Chobits Continued
by Iskandar
Summary: A continuation of the story of Chi and Hideki shortly after the end of the anime series. This story is done. All better. Thanks to all my beta readers.
1. Chi is Broken

A couple of notes before we start:

This should be obvious, but Chobits belongs to Clamp. I'm simply having fun in their universe.  
Also, this story takes place shortly after the anime series. If you've seen the OVA, the first few scenes will sound familiar.

Is there really such a thing as "Happily ever after"?

Chapter One

Chi is Broken

Hideki had finally passed his college entrance exams. Now he was on the train bound for the Tokyo station nearest his apartment. Chi sat beside him, head on his shoulder, hand entwined with his hand, and that special smile that she showed just to him on her face. Hideki was also smiling. It seemed that his life had changed so much, all for the better, ever since Chi had come into his life. He even credited her with his success at getting into college. She had helped him study, cheering him on when he got discouraged, and her love gave him the confidence he so often lacked when under pressure.

Chi watched Hideki smile. He had been so busy between studying for exams and working that they had not been able to spend much time together lately. Chi had started accompanying Hideki to prep school, waiting in the lobby with a book from the library or nearby bookstore, just so she could be nearer to him. Afterwards they would spend what time they could walking around Tokyo together before Chi would go to work and Hideki would head home to study. This train trip to and from the college was the longest time they had spent together in months. Chi found the view from the train window fascinating, and she knew that she had overwhelmed Hideki with questions as they headed to the college. Now that they were headed home she was content just to be near him, spending some quiet time together before the hustle and bustle of their daily lives caught up with them again.

Chi knew that all of their friends would be waiting to greet them at the train station and congratulate Hideki on passing his entrance exams. They would then head to Ms. Hibiya's apartment for dinner. It was supposed to be a big surprise so she had been careful not to tell Hideki. While she knew he would be happy to see everyone, Chi also felt a little sad that this special moment they were spending together would soon be over.

Hideki noticed Chi's smile falter. "Is everything okay, Chi?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Chi said, banishing the slight hint of melancholy that had been creeping up on her. Time spent with Hideki was special and she would not ruin it. "Are we nearly home?"

"Another ten minutes, I think.," Hideki replied, not entirely convinced by her answer.

"Chi is... I am glad," Chi began. Chi had learned to use pronouns but she still fell back into old speech patterns every now and again, "It will be good to be home," Yes, she decided, it really will be good to be home. The surprise party would make Hideki very happy. Even if she couldn't spend time with him alone, time spent together with friends was just as good.

Chi settled her head back on Hideki's shoulder and closed her eyes. Now that they were so close to home it was time to call Kotoko who would then make sure everyone was waiting when the train arrived. While Chi had learned to use the phone network it still did not feel completely natural to her. She could, by nature of who and what she was, directly connect to any other persocom she wanted, regardless of their wishes. She had learned that doing so was an invasion of privacy, however, so she saved that for true emergencies. Instead she reached out to the nearest cell tower and dialed Ms. Hibiya's phone, knowing that Kotoko was tied into it and waiting for the call. After a short conversation she hung up and opened her eyes again. Everything was ready.

The train entered the station accompanied by the screeching of brakes. The doors opened and everyone pushed and shoved to get off. Hideki and Chi hung back a bit and waited for the knot of people at the door to clear before exiting the train car. Finally the doors were clear and they made their way down onto the platform. It took a moment for Hideki to orient himself since he rarely took the train. After a few seconds he led Chi towards the gates that exited out onto the streets of Tokyo. Once through the gates, Hideki stopped in shock. All of his friends were waiting there to congratulate him. Everyone crowded around and began talking at once. Shinbo exchanged thumbs up with Hideki, Yumi gave him an enormous bouquet of flowers, and Hideki's manager from work pounded him on the back so hard that Hideki was nearly knocked to the ground.

After the confused babble of greetings and congratulations had died down a little Ms. Hibiya spoke up, "Dinner is waiting, everyone. If you will all follow me?" She turned and, after glancing over her shoulder to make sure everyone was indeed following, made her way down the street towards home. Everyone else fell into line, more or less, and followed along after her. Kotoko was on Ms. Hibiya's shoulder, facing backwards, making sure no one strayed off and got lost. Hideki and Shinbo were directly behind Ms. Hibiya, talking excitedly over everything that had happened since they had last seen each other. Sumomo was, temporarily at least, back on Shinbo's shoulder and was busy humming to herself. Chi and Ms. Shimizu were next, Ms. Shimizu talking about her upcoming marriage to Shinbo and Chi asking a dozen questions. Yumi and Mr. Ueda followed them, arm in arm. Mr. Oomura, who was both Hideki's boss and Yumi's father, trailed them by a few steps. Bringing up the rear were Minoru and Yuzuki, also arm in arm. Minoru was quiet and sober looking, though he occasionally looked up at Yuzuki and smiled, and Yuzuki was his direct opposite, smiling and sunny.

Eventually the noisy group arrived at the Gub. Jogasaki and made their way to Ms. Hibiya's apartment. Although Ms. Hibiya's place was larger than Hideki's, she had combined two apartments when she remodeled, twelve people and persocoms made for quite a crowd. Eight places had been arranged around a low table, the four persocoms didn't eat of course, with cushions for people to sit placed nearby. While everyone else settled down around the table, Ms. Hibiya went into the kitchen to check on the food. It had been years since she had last hosted a dinner party, back when both Freya and her husband had both been alive. Having all these people around lightened her heart although she still felt a little awkward and nervous after so long in semi-seclusion.

Once she was certain everything was ready, Ms. Hibiya began bringing everything to the table. Hideki immediately sprang up to help her but Ms. Hibiya motioned him to sit back down. She wasn't going to have the guest of honor wait on the table at his own party, after all. At which point Chi stood up to help. Ms. Hibiya smiled and relented and together they brought all the delicious looking food to the table, as well as all the utensils, plates, condiments and so on.

Dinner was a noisy boisterous affair, everyone talking and laughing at once. Eventually everyone had had enough to eat and Ms. Hibiya and Chi cleared the table. Once the table was cleared and Ms. Hibiya and Chi had sat back down, Mr. Ueda stood and then turned to help Yumi to her feet. Yumi was blushing a fierce shade of red and Mr. Ueda looked fairly embarrassed as well. "I have an announcement," Ueda said with a nervous smile, "Yumi and I... well, yesterday, I proposed..." He was interrupted before finishing when everyone in the room broke out in spontaneous applause and cheering. "She said 'yes'," Ueda continued after the noise level dropped, "We are getting married in July. I, no we, have a request for Hideki and Chi. It is because of you that Yumi and I rediscovered our love. Without you this marriage would not be happening. Yumi and I would be honored if you, Hideki, would be my best man and you, Chi, would be Yumi's maid of honor."

Everyone turned to look at Hideki and Chi. Hideki was speechless. Chi simply looked confused. While Hideki had explained marriage after Shinbo and Ms. Shimizu had announced their betrothal, he hadn't gone into a lot of detail. Ms. Hibiya understood her confusion and started whispering in Chi's ear. Chi's face rapidly changed from one of bewilderment to understanding and then to joy.

"Chi, no I...I would be happy to be Yumi's maid of honor," Chi said.

"I'm not sure what to say. Of course, I accept," Hideki managed to stammer out a few seconds later.

Everyone gathered around Ueda and Yumi to wish them well and to congratulate them both. Ms. Hibiya broght out several bottles of sake to celebrate and soon everyone was toasting the happy couple. Several hours, and several bottles, later the only truly sober people left were the four persocoms. The party was a great success and no one wanted to be the first to leave. It was either very late at night or very early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, when the last guest made their unsteady way home.

Chi and Hideki offered to stay and help clean up, but Ms. Hibiya insited that she could handle it and gently shooed them out the door. From there Chi and Hideki, carrying Sumomo and Kotoko, climbed wearily up the stairs to their apartment. Sumomo was already fast asleep in Chi's arms with Kotoko looking disdainfully down at her from Hideki's shoulder. The constant noise and stimulation from the party had worn Sumoomo out and drained her batteries.

After reaching their apartment, Hideki placed the deeply sleeping Sumomo in her bed and plugged her into the wall mounted charger. Hideki then straightened and stretched. He didn't have prep school in the morning anymore and college would not start until after the summer break, so he had no reason to wake up early the next day. He decided that he was still wound up from the party and needed time to decompress and clear his head.

"I'm thinking of going for a walk," Hideki announced. "Do you want to come with me, Chi, or are you too..." Before he could finish his sentence Chi landed in his arms and knocked him to the floor. Hideki just shook his head and smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. All right, let me up and I'll grab my coat."

(***)

Hideki and Chi strolled through the moonlit nighttime streets. Hideki didn't have a destination in mind, instead he just wanted to be out in the evening air with Chi. He was constantly amazed how even simple things like taking a walk were transformed by her presence into something special, even magical.

After about an hour, Hideki decided that he had calmed down from the party and his head was clear. "I think it is time to go home," Hideki said, yawning. Arm in arm and hand in hand, they began walking back towards home. After walking for a while they made it to the last crosswalk between them and the apartment complex. After that it was a short two blocks and then home. The crosswalk light had just turned green and so the happy couple stepped down off the curb and began to cross to the other side. The only traffic in either direction was one car that was approaching rapidly.

Unfortunately, the driver of that car had been drinking. He had had a bad day. In short order he had lost his job, then his girlfriend, and finally his apartment. He had decided to drown his sorrows in beer. The more he drank, the angrier he became. He stopped blaming himself for his misfortunes and started looking elsewhere. The answer was obvious and all around him, persocoms. His boss had fired him not because he had made one mistake too many, instead he was fired so he could be replaced by a persocom. After all, you don't have to pay a persocom and persocoms never made mistakes. If he hadn't been fired he would never have gone home early and argued with his girlfriend. If he hadn't argued with his girlfriend she wouldn't have thrown him out of her apartment. It was all the fault of persocoms.

These very black and bitter thoughts chased themselves around and around in his mind as he approached the crosswalk. He noticed Chi and Hideki crossing and recognized them immediately. He had seen them before walking around town in the afternoons, always hand in hand. "Dirty persocom lover and that human stealing hussy," he snarled to himself. He had wanted to lash out at somebody all day and these two would do nicely. He would ignore the light and act like he was going to run them over before swerving out of the way. The sight of them diving to the ground and rolling in the gutter would be a fitting revenge for the way he had been treated.

It took Hideki a few seconds to realize that the car wasn't stopping. Chi, however, had already noticed the danger and made a decision. She let go of Hideki's hand, leaned back a little, and then gave him a push with both arms as hard as she could. Hideki went flying and then rolled to a stop against the opposite curb, unharmed except from a few scrapes from hitting the pavement. Now that Chi was standing alone the driver of the car changed his mind about swerving out of the way. Hitting a human being with a car was murder but who cared if a persocom got "accidently" run over?

Chi was off balance when the car came roaring at her. She began to turn, a blazing white light igniting around her. She just didn't have enough time before the car struck her. She was scooped into the air and the light that had begun to surround her extinguished immediately. Chi flew in a graceless arc before hitting the ground and rolling to stop. The car drifted a little, regained control, and then roared off into the night.

Hideki had managed to sit upright just in time to witness the entire horrific scene. He yelled something inarticulate and struggled to his feet. He wobbled badly, almost unable to walk from the shock and confusion. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it and then made his unsteady way over to Chi. He found her laying with arms and legs splayed, completely unmoving. Chi was badly hurt; arms and legs bent and broken, metal bones, circuitry, and tangled wires forced out of long rents in her synthetic skin, her chest and abdomen crushed and deformed, her right ear shell ripped away and the wires and connectors within exposed. Only her face was unmarred by damage.

Hideki dropped to his knees beside her. He didn't even notice that his right knee had landed squarely on a piece of jagged metal broken off from Chi. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Chi, why? Why did you do that? Please don't be dead, please..." Hideki was nearly incoherent from grief.

"Hi...de...ki?" Chi asked her eyes fluttering open slowly. "Are you unhurt?"

"Yes Chi, I'm...I'm fine," Hideki managed to gasp out.

"Chi is...happy. I...love..." Chi stuttered slowly. Before she could finish there was a bright spark from an open wound in her abdomen. Her entire body arched and then went limp; her eyes remained open but were now lifeless. Chi had gone into complete system shutdown.

Hideki let out a wordless howl of shock and loss. He could not believe Chi was dead. He wouldn't accept it. He could not have lost his person only for him. There had to be something, anything he could do. "Ms. Hibiya. Ms. Hibiya helped create Chi. She can bring Chi back to me." the thought went crashing through Hideki's brain like a thunderbolt.

Without a second thought, Hideki gathered Chi in his arms and stood, ignoring the pain as sharp metal from Chi's wounds ripped through his coat and into the skin beneath. Chi was as heavy now as the day Hideki had found her in the trash pile. Carrying her home then he had barely been able to walk under the weight. Now with panic in his head and grief in his heart, despite his right knee bleeding freely, Hideki found the strength to run.


	2. Chi in Darkness

Chapter Two

Chi in Darkness

Once the party ended and everyone had gone home, Ms. Hibiya got busy cleaning her apartment. Despite the amount of work ahead of her, she was happy. The night had gone well, better than she had expected, even if things had gotten a little bit out of control near the end. _Perhaps a little less sake next time_, she mused, _Especially for Ms. Shimizu and Mr. Oomura_. She smiled to herself. No one had truly overindulged or embarrassed themselves so she dismissed her concerns and turned back to her cleaning, humming while she worked.

After a little less than an hour, the apartment was sparkling clean again and Ms. Hibiya was sitting at the table with a steaming cup of herbal tea. She wanted to unwind a little before heading to bed and clear her mind of the last vestiges of the sake she had drunk. She knew from experience that she would wake up with a headache if she did not. So she sat and sipped her tea and enjoyed that drifting feeling that comes from being half-awake and half-asleep.

Most of the tea had been drunk and Ms. Hibiya had just decided to head to bed when she heard the heavy, pounding footsteps of someone running down the front walk of the apartment complex. Placing her teacup on the table, she stood, intent on finding the source of the commotion. Before she could take more than a step, Hideki began hammering on her door and shouting her name. She heard the distress in his voice and hurried to the door. Once she swung it open she had to step back quickly as Hideki all but fell into the room.

Ms. Hibiya turned pale and swayed on her feet when she saw what Hideki was cradling in his arms; her daughter Elda – now Chi – horribly mangled and broken. Hideki was holding Chi tightly, as if afraid that letting her go would be to admit she was forever lost.

"Help her. You must, you have to, please help her," Hideki entreated. He stumbled again, barely keeping himself upright. He was near collapse, from shock, from injury, from grief.

Seeing Hideki so close to breakdown wrenched at Ms. Hibiya's heart almost as much as seeing her only remaining daughter so badly mauled. "Mr. Motosuwa, Hideki, all hope is not gone," she said quietly. Somewhere she found the inner strength to offer Hideki a reassuring smile. "Come with me, quickly."

Ms. Hibiya turned and led Hideki into the next room, pausing only briefly to flip the hidden switch that opened the staircase to the secret room below. She went first and Hideki came staggering after her as they made their way down to the small almost spherical room that lay underneath the apartment complex. Once into the underground room, Ms. Hibiya stopped to think for a second and then hit a button on the right wall. A metal table, two meters long and a half meter wide, slid smoothly from a hidden slot in the wall. Ms. Hibiya motioned Hideki to place Chi on the table and then turned to an adjacent keyboard. A couple of quick keystrokes activated a display panel above the table and caused a gentle hum to be heard throughout the room.

Nodding absently to herself, Ms. Hibiya turned back to Hideki and was taken aback when she finally realized his condition. Jagged metal had torn into his coat, leaving tattered holes through which abraded and scratched skin could be seen. She also noticed blood soaking his right pants leg from the knee downward. Exhaustion and grief had etched lines across his face and he was rocking slowly back and forth. He was clearly close to collapse, but he was just as clearly unwilling to be parted from Chi.

Shaking her head, Ms. Hibiya spoke up sternly, "I want you to go upstairs and change out of those clothes this instant. When you come back I will clean and dress those cuts for you."

"No, I'm fine," Hideki weakly protested, "Chi is the one who needs your help, not me."

"I know, dear. I will help her," Ms. Hibiya replied kindly, "But Chi would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you. Please, for her sake, go get cleaned up."

It was a low blow, Ms. Hibiya admitted to herself, but in the end it worked. After making only a few more token protests, Hideki allowed himself to be convinced. He slowly trudged upstairs, pain and exhaustion clear in his every step. Ms. Hibiya stared after him for a second, worried about Hideki almost as much as she was worried about Chi. What would he do if Chi was truly gone? _One problem at a time_, she admonished herself.

Ms. Hibiya turned back to Chi and made a visual inspection of the damage. She felt despair rise in her chest as she realized that even if Chi's data was intact, her body was beyond repair. Without her husband's resources, she was not sure where or even if she could manufacture the needed parts for such an extensive rebuild. When Elda had first been constructed there had only two or three persocom laboratories capable of fabricating systems that complex. As far as she knew, Chi's hardware was still unique; too costly to make mass production practical and too complex for custom builders like Minoru. Ms. Hibiya cut off that line of thought. The first thing to do was find out if Chi's data was intact, to find out if her daughter had survived the terrible damage done to her body. If Chi was still alive Ms. Hibiya would find some way to rebuild her body.

Ms. Hibiya reached up beside the display panel above the table and flipped open an access hatch. She grabbed the cable inside and drew it down to the table. then took some time checking the exposed connectors where Chi's right ear shell had been. Surprisingly she found no obvious damage so she plugged the cable into an empty socket. Immediately the hum in the room got louder and the words, "Diagnostic tests initiated, please stand by..." flashed on the panel above Chi. Ms. Hibiya knew that these tests took time to complete and, rather than hover over Chi and worry, she should go check on Hideki.

Ms. Hibiya rested a hand on Chi's cheek and allowed the sadness and hurt to well up. After a few seconds, she forced her feelings down and turned away. For Hideki's sake she would hide her worries and her pain. If she could do nothing else for her daughter, she could at least do what she could for the one her daughter had given her heart to. With that thought firmly in mind, Ms. Hibiya stepped lightly up the stairs. She gathered her first aid kit and then went searching for Hideki, finding him already heading back down to her apartment.

Sitting Hideki down in her living room, Ms. Hibiya took a good look at the damage that had been inflicted. Her first impulse was to send him to a hospital. However, she knew that Hideki would refuse to go as long as Chi's fate was uncertain. Instead she began to clean and bandage the scrapes and cuts on his arms and chest and was relieved to find them to be largely superficial. Hideki's knee was anything but superficial, however Ms. Hibiya was able to extract the piece of embedded metal with a pair of tweezers and apply a larger dressing. "There, dear heart, that should do for now," she announced, "We should go check on Chi.."

Hideki got stiffly to his feet. Exhaustion and pain were slowly overwhelming the adrenaline in his system. It felt like every square inch of his body hurt. He wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, hopefully to awake and find that this was all some terrible nightmare. Instead he followed Ms. Hibiya back down the stairs and steeled his heart for the worst.

"Diagnostic tests completed," the panel above Chi's table now read, "Warning: Multiple critical faults detected. Press any key to display detailed results." Ms. Hibiya looked up at the panel and frowned. She knew that a single keystroke would display information that could break her heart. She hesitated, torn between her desire to know and her blackest fear of another daughter torn from her too soon.

Hideki looked at the display and then at Ms. Hibiya. He didn't understand what exactly was triggering her unease but he knew that as much as Chi's current condition hurt his heart it had to be just as bad for Ms. Hibiya. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "We are family," Hideki said quietly, "And no matter what happens, Chi cannot be truly parted from us because we hold her in our hearts."

Ms. Hibiya looked up at Hideki in surprise. Despite the way he sometimes acted, he was a truly understanding and compassionate soul. She gave him a smile, weak and tremulous but genuine, and then walked over to the keyboard and struck a key. She watched the display panel as it flashed the results of each of the diagnostic tests. The first few lines caused a leaden feeling to wash over her. Test after test had failed to run at all because of broken communication links.

Those tests that did run returned fatal errors and critical faults. Ms. Hibiya had expected this, but seeing the reality was almost more than she could bear. Finally near the end of the report were the two tests she had been most concerned about, the tests on Chi's data integrity, the tests which would determine whether Chi was still alive and recoverable, or lost forever. Ms. Hibiya read and then reread the results and immediately burst into tears.

Hideki understood almost nothing that the panel displayed. He had learned a great deal of information about persocoms ever since Chi had come into his life. However, the information on the screen was just too technical. Instead, he watched Ms. Hibiya's face. He felt his heart sink as he saw her get sadder and sadder. When she burst into tears he felt his last hope fade. Then he noticed something curious. Despite the tears running down her face, Ms. Hibiya was smiling.

Ms. Hibiya turned to Hideki and did something unexpected. She flung herself into his arms with almost as much force as Chi would have done. Somehow Hideki kept his feet. "Chi's data is intact. She is alive, Hideki!" Ms. Hibiya announced, hugging him tightly, "My daughter survived!"

Ms. Hibiya slowly released Hideki and looked somewhat embarrassed at her emotional reaction. "Even though her body is broken beyond repair her data, her personality and her memories – everything that makes Chi who she is – is undamaged."

Hideki was in shock. He had been on an emotional roller coaster and he was almost afraid to hope. "Is...is she really alive?" He questioned cautiously.

"Yes, dear one." Ms. Hibiya said smiling with tears still shining in her eyes. Hideki still didn't seem convinced. Ms. Hibiya thought for a second and came up with an idea. "Would you like to speak to her?" she continued, turning back to the keyboard.

"Speak to her? That is...yes! Um, how?" Hideki was nearly inarticulate from shock.

"The computers in these walls contain all the data my husband developed when designing Freya and Elda, Chi. Among them is a program designed to emulate Chi's hardware in a virtual environment," Ms. Hibiya explained, turning back to the keyboard and beginning to type commands, "That program allowed my husband to find flaws and make changes before building expensive physical prototypes."

"Emulate? Virtual?" Hideki looked blank.

Ms. Hibiya sighed to herself. She had a tendency to lecture and she had forgotten that Hideki's technical knowledge was limited. She thought for a second and said, "A perfect copy of Chi's hardware, except it only exists inside these computers not the real world. I can upload her data into the virtual copy and that copy would then become Chi, as real to her, and us, as her physical body." She finished inputting the last of a flurry of commands on the keyboard while she was talking.

The panel over Chi blinked once and then cleared. New words appeared: "Initiating data download. Data download complete. Testing data integrity. Data integrity test complete, no errors found. Initiating Chobits hardware emulation. Uploading data into Chobits hardware emulation. Upload complete. Running Chobits hardware emulation ."

"Chi?" exclaimed a familiar voice over the speakers in the room, "What has happened to Chi? Chi cannot see, Chi cannot move."

"Chi...Chi is that really you?" Hideki wondered, his voice cracking and wavering.

"Chi is Chi because Hideki named me," announced the voice happily. "Hideki! Are you unhurt?"

"I am now, Chi," Hideki whispered, "I am now."


	3. Chi Sleeps

Chapter Three

Chi Sleeps

Ms. Hibiya watched Hideki as he talked with Chi. Tears of joy were rolling down his face completely unnoticed; Chi was alive and his heart was whole again. Ms. Hibiya turned back to her keyboard with a smile. She was glad to be able to reunite Chi and Hideki. However she knew that time was not on their side. She entered a few swift keystrokes and looked up at the display. No, time was definitely not on their side.

Despite the fact that the computers in the underground room were incredibly powerful, there were limits. Emulating Chi's hardware was putting an unimaginable strain on all connected systems due to the complicated nature and sheer size of her data. Ms. Hibiya looked at the display again and felt some of the happiness drain out of her as reality intruded. If Chi's data was not moved to storage soon, there was a real chance that the program would crash and she could be irrevocably lost. To prevent that, she would have to sleep until her body could be rebuilt. Ms. Hibiya felt the last of the joy she had gotten from hearing her daughter's voice drain out of her, as she realized that she had no idea how long that sleep might last.

Chi's systems were unique and complex. When she had been first designed and built there had been only a handful of research laboratories capable of manufacturing her parts. If Ms. Hibiya still had her contacts with old friends and colleagues she could have turned to them for help. However, with the death of her husband and her retreat to just being an apartment manager, she had lost track of her old life. She didn't regret that decision as it was here she had witnessed Elda's rebirth as Chi and it was here she had watched Chi find true happiness. No regrets, but also no one to turn to for help.

Ms. Hibiya frowned, her mood darkening further. Telling Hideki the truth, that she wasn't sure Chi could ever be rebuilt, would break his heart again. The only other choice was to make what could become an empty promise, something she resolutely refused to do. Honesty, then, but leavened with as much kindness as possible.

Turned back to Hideki, she gently interposed herself into his conversation with Chi, "Hideki, I am sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid that Chi must sleep for a while."

"Chi isn't tired. I want to stay with Hideki!" Chi whined, her voice so sad you could almost see her pouting.

"I know, my dearest. It can't be helped. If I leave your program running you could crash and we would lose you forever," Ms. Hibiya said quietly.

"It's okay Chi. I promise to be right here when you awake again," Hideki interjected.

"Hideki promises?" Chi said sorrowfully.

"That's right Chi, I promise."

"All right. I love you, Hideki."

"And I love you, too, Chi."

Ms. Hibiya was already at the keyboard. As soon as she heard Hideki and Chi say their goodbyes she inputted a few quick keystrokes. Chi's data was sent to storage and the emulation program shut down. The humming sound in the room had been growing louder, but now it faded back into the background. "Hideki, I am sorry," Ms. Hibiya apologized, "that program was only ever intended for short-term testing. I gave you as much time as I could."

"I understand," Hideki replied, a note of cheerfulness overlaying the exhaustion in his voice, "even though it hurts to part from her, I now know that it won't be for forever."

Her heart aching, Ms. Hibiya gazed up at Hideki. She had to tell him the truth. Chi was beyond her abilities to repair and if she couldn't find some solution Chi might never be awakened. Ms. Hibiya had to tell Hideki the truth, but she could not break his heart again so soon after it had been mended. She would wait for tomorrow and maybe she could think of something in the meantime. Decision made, she spoke up firmly, "I think it is best we get some rest. Chi is not the only one who needs sleep. You have been through a lot tonight, we both have. We'll start fresh in the morning."

Hideki couldn't argue. The last of the adrenaline had left his body, leaving pain and exhaustion behind. Getting some sleep seemed like a wonderful idea. With a nod and a yawn, Hideki walked wearily up the stairs and left for his apartment. Once he was gone, Ms. Hibiya paused for a moment to take a look back at the broken form of Chi – now an empty shell – and then made her way upstairs.

Hideki found the stairs leading up to his apartment an almost insurmountable obstacle. He could not remember ever being this tired, either mentally and physically, and overlaying the exhaustion was the pain. His arms itched and burned from the abrasions and scrapes he had gotten carrying Chi home. His right knee throbbed at the place Ms. Hibiya had removed the scrap of metal. All the muscles in his legs and back were solid knots of agony due to the overexertion of running while carrying Chi's weight. Only thoughts of how good it would feel to collapse into his own bed allowed him to climb the stairs.

Once up the stairs and into his apartment, Hideki faced one more obstacle standing between him and much-needed rest. Kotoko was standing just inside the door, somehow managing to be physically imposing despite being only sixteen centimeters tall. She had awakened when Hideki had come to change his clothes, but he had left again before she could ask him what was going on. She had since spent her time trying to puzzle out what had happened. Realizing Hideki had returned alone had worried her. The fact that the clothes he left behind were torn and bloodied just made that worry worse. Something had happened and she wanted an explanation..

"You are a mess," Kotoko said in her normal calm voice. "What happened to you? And where is Chi?"

Hideki knelt on the floor and then lifted Kotoko up in one hand, so she would be eye level with him. Hideki had always found it somewhat disrespectful to just loom over the two smaller persocoms when he wanted to talk to them. "Chi has been in an accident," he replied, "A car struck her as we were walking home."

Kotoko felt a chill run down her spine. Despite how strange and awkward Chi could be sometimes, Kotoko had come to consider her a friend. "I...I see. I am sorry for your loss."

Hideki frowned for a second and then smiled. "No, no. Despite the damage her body took, Chi's data survived," he said reassuringly. He then went on to describe in detail everything that had happened since he and Chi had left the apartment.

With growing wonder, Kotoko listened as Hideki's story unfolded. For a persocom to take as much damage as he described and have her data survive intact... it was nothing short of a miracle! On the other hand, Chi was a Chobit and her capabilities were beyond those of normal persocoms. Who knew what was 'normal' for her?

His tale complete, Hideki wished Kotoko goodnight and, after carefully placing her on the floor, staggered over to his futon. He felt a a pang go through his heart as he realized that this would be the first night he would sleep alone since Chi had first joined him. Shaking the feeling off, he collapsed into bed without even bothering to change out of his clothes. Seconds later, he was fast asleep.

Kotoko watched Hideki all but fall over on his way to bed. She had refrained from asking too many questions as he had obviously needed sleep more than she needed answers. Kotoko frowned to herself. Something about the story he had told her sounded off, although she couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong. She had a vague idea that Ms. Hibiya had avoided telling Hideki something important.

With a shrug of her shoulders and an internal sigh, Kotoko postponed her worries. She needed sleep, too. While she hated to admit it, her batteries were nearly drained. One of the trade offs that allowed her to have the computing power of a human sized persocom was a decreased space for her batteries. On top of that, unlike normal laptop sized persocoms like Sumomo, her electronics required more power. That meant that she could go only about two thirds as long, or less, without charging. It had been a long night and she should have been in standby mode long ago.

Kotoko made her way to where Sumomo was sleeping and prepared to shut herself down for the night. Right before going off line Kotoko suddenly remembered something. Sumomo would be waking up in a few short hours to do her normal morning exercise routines! Given how exhausted Hideki had seemed it would probably be a good idea to reset Sumomo's alarm to something more reasonable. It took Kotoko a matter of moments to hook up to Sumomo and change her alarm settings.

It did require a bit of hacking, but Kotoko was programmed for that. Sumomo's security was laughable compared to what Kotoko normally dealt with. Kotoko toyed with idea of erasing several of Sumomo's more annoying programs and rewriting her personality to be slightly less upbeat and relentlessly cheerful. Reluctantly Kotoko decided that would be overstepping her bounds. Even more reluctantly, she admitted to herself that she had actually grown fond of Sumomo, irritating mannerisms and all. With that disquieting thought, she unhooked herself from Sumomo and laid down beside her. In moments Kotoko was asleep as well.

After Hideki left, Ms. Hibiya began cleaning her apartment. Hideki had tracked in dirt and a little blood. Truthfully, the cleaning could have waited for the morning, however she found she did her best thinking when she was distracted by menial tasks. So she swept and thought, scrubbed and thought, and soon the apartment was sparkling clean again. Unfortunately, she had gotten no closer to a solution. Fixing herself a new cup of herbal tea, as the old one had gone cold, she sat down at the table to turn her full attention to the problem.

_I need information,_ Ms. Hibiya decided. When she had left her old job two years ago, Chi's hardware had been too complex to manufacture outside of a few specialized persocom research laboratories. However, she knew that persocom technology had not stood still since. Kotoko was proof of that. Two years ago it would have been unthinkable to pack that much computing power into a frame so small and yet Kojima had managed it with today's technology. Minoru had achieved similarly amazing results with Yuzuki. While not the equal of Chi in respects to hardware, Yuzuki was still more complex and sophisticated than Ms. Hibiya had expected to be possible outside of a laboratory environment. Clearly she was behind the times.

Ms. Hibiya thought for a moment and made a decision. Trying to come to grips with all the changes the last few years had brought would be an insurmountable task if she worked alone. She needed someone who was current on all the new technology, someone who was smart enough to adapt Chi's old technology to be compatible with the new, and someone she could trust implicitly. There was really only one person she knew who fit all those criteria: Minoru Kokubunji.

Ms. Hibiya had been reluctant to turn to him, though. It had seemed silly to pin all her hopes on a boy who had just turned thirteen. Although the more she thought about it, the more she realized how unfair it was to dismiss him as a a mere boy. Minoru was more mature and responsible then many adults she knew. He was also smarter than anyone else she had ever met, besides her husband. Perhaps working together she and Minoru could find a solution. _Two heads are better than one_, Ms. Hibiya thought. _Three,_ she immediately corrected. Wherever Minoru went, Yuzuki was always by his side.

Ms. Hibiya nodded to herself. In the morning she would call Minoru and invite him over. She would explain the problem and show him Chi's specs. Together, hopefully, they would either find a way to rebuild Chi... or she would have to have a long talk to Hideki. Getting to her feet and heading towards her bedroom, Ms. Hibiya offered a small prayer that Minoru would have the answers she needed. She was not certain she could bear to break Hideki's heart again. Prayer completed, she climbed into bed and was asleep shortly thereafter. Tomorrow would be a big day, one way or another.


	4. Chi Hopes

Chapter Four

Chi Hopes

Despite almost total exhaustion, Hideki did not sleep well. He had slept with Chi beside him since the day he had found her. Now that she was gone, he tossed and turned and could not get comfortable. Worse, when he did settle down to sleep he had nightmares. Again and again he relived the horrible moment when Chi was struck down.

After less than five hours of sleep Hideki gave up and opened his eyes. He looked over at the clock and groaned when he saw that it was only slightly after nine o'clock in the morning. Despite lingering feelings of exhaustion, he couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, he decided he might as well get his day started. He sat up and looked over at Sumomo, who was still deeply asleep. _That's odd,_ Hideki mused to himself, _Her alarm should have gone off an hour ago. I don't remember resetting it, but I guess I must have._

Hideki shrugged, stretched, and stood. He then walked over to Sumomo and gently unplugged her from the wall charger, wanting to give Kotoko a chance to recharge as well. He quickly realized that she was not asleep in her usual place next to Sumomo. After a quick look around the room he located Kotoko sitting in a yoga position on the windowsill. Hideki stared at her for a few seconds, trying to determine what she was doing, before something clicked in his brain. Persocoms could recharge themselves using direct sunlight. Since Sumomo had been plugged into the wall, Kotoko had taken the only other alternative when she'd realized her batteries were low. Hideki shrugged and decided to leave her be. Sunlight was free, which was important to a perpetually broke college student.

After fixing and eating breakfast Hideki looked at the clock again. It was still early and Ms. Hibiya was probably still asleep. Hideki thought for a moment, trying to think of some way to pass the time. After a second, he smacked his forehead. He needed to let everyone know what had happened to Chi. While he dreaded telling the story over and over again, it was also his duty to inform Chi's friends. Sumomo would have to be first, Hideki decided. Since she was still asleep he walked over to her and gave her a gentle shake. "Sumomo, wake up. I have something important to tell you," he began.

(***)

It took Hideki about an hour to finish his calls. The experience had not been pleasant, despite how supportive everyone had been. Still, it had needed to be done. Yumi had even agreed to cover for Chi at the bakery. That had left Hideki picking up extra shifts at the pub. Since he needed money for college, he truly didn't mind the extra work.

Hideki gave the clock one more look and saw that it was now past ten o'clock. Ms. Hibiya would certainly be awake by now. While he didn't want to disturb her while she was working on Chi, he wanted to be nearby. Therefore, Hideki gathered Kotoko and Sumomo, placing them on his shoulders, and headed out the of his apartment.

Hideki was walking fast in anticipation of being close to Chi again, at least in spirit. By the time he started down the stairs he was nearly running. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he turned left towards Ms. Hibiya's apartment. He was so intent on his destination that he didn't notice Minoru walking down the hallway. Hideki was forced to come to a sudden halt to avoid running into him, causing Sumomo to lose her place on his shoulder. With a high pitched scream she went tumbling towards the floor. Before she fell very far a hand caught her by the bow tied in the ribbon at her waist. Yuzuki gave Hideki a reproving look as she placed Sumomo gently back on his shoulder.

"Sumomo avoided falling on her face and going splat! Thank you Yuzuki!" Sumomo piped up cheerfully. She then turned towards Hideki and continued in a reproachful tone, "Master should be more careful! I am a delicate electronic device! A fall from this height could case severe damage!"

Hideki sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry Sumomo. I wasn't watching where I was going," he replied. He looked at Minoru as he continued, "And I'm sorry about nearly running into you, also, Minoru."

Minoru looked up at Hideki and gave a brief smile "Do not concern yourself about it. You have been through a lot in a short period of time. Some amount of distraction is perfectly understandable"

"Yeah. I'm really worried about Chi. I know she will be fine, but I worry nonetheless," Hideki said quietly.

"I know. Chi is a very special persocom," Minoru began and then immediately corrected himself, "No, she is a very special person. She has touched everyone's life," He glanced up at Yuzuki and then back at Hideki.

Hideki smiled and nodded at Minoru, "Yes, I've known her less than a year and already I can't imagine life without her."

"Try not to worry so much," said Minoru reassuringly, "As long as a persocom's data is intact everything else is repairable. Actually, that is why I am here. Ms. Hibiya called shortly after you did. She wants my help to rebuild Chi, " Minoru sounded faintly surprised, "I am not sure what I can do that she cannot, but any aid I can provide, I will. Come, Mr. Motosuwa, Ms. Hibiya is waiting for both of us." With that, Minoru led Hideki down the hallway and to Ms. Hibiya's door.

(***)

While Hideki, Sumomo, Yuzuki, and Kotoko waited upstairs, Ms. Hibiya led Minoru down into the underground room. Once downstairs, Ms. Hibiya sat at the control console that was the central focus of the room to wait. She knew that Minoru would need a few minutes to deal with what he was about to see.

Minoru stopped at the bottom of the stairs, completely awestruck. Despite not recognizing everything he saw, he did realize that there was more computing power in this one room than almost anywhere else on Earth. He let his gaze travel across the room, knowing that he was standing in the presence of a significant portion of persocom history.

After a minute or two Minoru noticed Chi's body on a table on the right side of the room. The feeling of wonder abruptly left him as he took in her condition. Both Hideki and Ms. Hibiya had told him what to expect, but the reality was somehow worse. Minoru slowly approached the table, sorrow welling up in his chest. He tried to suppress his feelings so he could objectively assess Chi's injuries. After a few moments of internal struggle he regained his composure, enough to allow him to take a closer look. The more he looked, the bleaker the picture became. The damage was extensive, almost certainly irreparable. Chi's body would need to be rebuilt, not just repaired.

Shaking his head, Minoru turned towards Ms. Hibiya, "I am surprised that Chi's data survived," he stated, his normally calm voice betraying a slight waver, "I don't believe I have ever seen a persocom with injuries this massive."

Ms. Hibiya smiled as she replied, "My husband went to great lengths to protect his daughters. I did not realize how far until last night. I, too, expected to find that Chi's data had been destroyed. Instead, her data is intact and resting in storage." Her smile faded as she continued, "I now find myself at a loss. Chi is beyond my ability to repair. While this room does contain all of my husband's research, both for Chobits and persocoms in general, it lacks any real manufacturing capability. I could do minor repairs and maintenance, but what Chi needs far exceeds that."

Minoru nodded, "I see. And it is extremely unlikely you can get the parts you need 'off the shelf'." He paused for a moment and then, thinking out loud, continued, "wasn't there a second Chobit? I seem to remember that there was another, but it broke down somehow. Perhaps we could use any parts..."

Before Minoru could finish he was interrupted by Ms. Hibiya, her voice like ice, "Her name was Freya. She did not 'break down', she died. She is buried next to my husband. I am not about to dig up my daughter's body for any reason."

"My apologies," Minoru said contritely, "I didn't think. I know how much Chi means to you. I should have realized how much you must have cared about Freya." He paused for a moment, trying to come up with another idea, "Well, there has to be some other way. You said this room contains all of your husband Dr. Ichiro's research? Does that include Chi's blueprints and schematics?"

Ms. Hibiya gave a slight nod and entered a few quick commands into the console in front of her. Immediately a display panel to her left lit up with an annotated diagram of Chi. Minoru walked over to the panel and began to study it. He was quiet for a few moments and then asked Ms. Hibiya to display a more detailed view of one of Chi's subsystems. After another few minutes he asked for another. The third time he asked Ms. Hibiya got out of the chair and motioned to Minoru to sit at the console. It took him a moment to familiarize himself with the system, but in a short time his fingers fairly flew over the keyboard as he explored Chi's hardware in greater and greater detail. Minoru began to formulate a plan. Perhaps rebuilding Chi was not as impossible as Ms. Hibiya had feared.

(***)

Hideki hadn't minded waiting upstairs. As much as he wanted to be close to Chi, he also found the sight of her broken body distressing. He decided that sitting in Ms. Hibiya's living room was a fair compromise. Telling himself that he was here to answer the doorbell or the phone even gave him the illusion of doing something useful.

Hideki looked around at the three persocoms in the apartment. Yuzuki was sitting across the table from him, smiling. She seemed happier lately. Hideki wondered if Chi's love for him had been as obvious to everyone else as Yuzuki's love for Minoru. Given the complete lack of surprise everyone had shown when Hideki had announced that he and Chi were a couple, he suspected that the answer was yes.

Sumomo was standing on the table. To be more accurate: she was dancing and spinning in place on the table. She never seemed to be able to just be still. Hideki found it an endearing trait, if a bit wearying. Kotoko was sitting on a windowsill across the room, basking in the sun. She claimed that her batteries were still low. Hideki suspected that this was an excuse to get away from Sumomo. For some reason, Sumomo's constant sunniness and good cheer grated on Kotoko's nerves. Hideki admitted to himself that he had the same reaction sometimes. He never could understand why Shinbo had programmed Sumomo to act this way. When confronted, Shinbo had answered simply, "It's cute," which wasn't really an answer at all.

Hideki yawned. He was starting to wish he had gotten more sleep. He had to be at work in a few hours, the first of his double shifts, and it was beginning to look like it was going to be a long day. Hideki had just decided to stretch out on the floor and catch a nap-one without dreams, hopefully- when he heard a knock on the door. He stood up and went to answer the door. When he opened it he nearly fell over in shock. Standing on the other side were the two persocoms that had attacked Chi that night Hideki had admitted his love for her.

The tall persocom tipped his wraparound shades down and looked Hideki in the eyes, "May we come in? There is something we need to discuss."

"Jima are you sure this is a good idea?" the smaller female persocom standing a step behind Jima asked.

Pushing his sunglasses back up, Jima turned to her and said soothingly, "We discussed this. I've made my decision. You know why."

Hideki wasn't sure how to react, or even what to say. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't make a sound. The last he had seen of these two, the taller one – Jima? – had pulled the other away from Chi and they had both disappeared shortly thereafter. According to Ms. Hibiya that should have been the end of the matter. So why were they here? Did it have anything to do with Chi's accident?

Jima sensed Hideki's confusion and some of the reasons behind it, "We aren't here to hurt Chi. Far from it, actually." The female persocom made a noise of protest. "Hush, Dita. My mind is made up," he said firmly, "Now, Mr. Motosuwa, I don't think this is a conversation we should have in the open. May we come in, please?"

Hideki shrugged. He knew there was little chance he could prevent either of them from entering the apartment. Jima had been able to restrain him easily enough the last time they had met. Therefore, Hideki led the way into the apartment.

Everyone sat at the table and for a few seconds no one spoke, unsure where to begin. Jima broke the silence first, "My name is Jima. This is my protector and guardian, Dita. We are employed by the Syndicate."

Hideki interjected, "The Syndicate?"

"A government agency concerned with persocom security, among other things, " Jima explained, "Chi is in danger. As long as she was functional it was considered too dangerous to attack her. Instead, she was to be kept under observation."

Hideki interrupted again, "Then why did you attack her last fall?"

"It was decided that the unknown program she was supposed to run was a threat to our security," Jima replied, "Once that program proved to be harmless, a decision was made to take no further direct action against her. The Syndicate was afraid she might have some defense program that might not be quite as innocuous."

Hideki thought for a moment and spoke up, "Like the time Chi was in the peep show? Or after Kojima kidnapped her? The persocoms around her just seemed to stop."

Jima nodded, "Exactly. We were to watch and observe, but not to interfere. That changed last night. At first the Syndicate was pleased, they thought Chi had been neutralized. Unfortunately, your phone was tapped. All of the conversations you had with your friends this morning were recorded. The Syndicate now knows that Chi is both alive and vulnerable. With her data separated from her body she cannot defend herself from attack. I was instructed to destroy her data and retrieve her physical remains for analysis."

Hideki shot to his feet, shaking with rage and fear, "What? How dare you!"

Jima remained seated. Dita shifted but then stilled after Jima motioned to her, "Sit down Mr. Motosuwa. I have no intention of following that order."

Hideki reluctantly sat back down, "Why? This is the second time you have refused to harm Chi. I don't understand."

Jima smiled as he answered, "The answer is complicated. I see in Chi the potential of all persocoms to realize their dreams, to find true happiness." Jima looked over at Dita and then back at Hideki, "I have other reasons that are more personal. Today I made a choice once and for all. I chose to stand with Chi."

Dita shifted and spoke up for the first time, "I'm still not sure what you see in that girl." Hideki looked at her in surprise. Did she sound jealous? Hideki looked at the pair of persocoms and then nodded to himself. It made sense, after all. If a persocom could fall in love with a human, what stopped two persocoms from falling in love with each other?

Jima replied to Dita gently, "We've discussed this Dita. I must do this if I am to remain true to myself. Allowing Chi to come to harm when I could prevent it would be unthinkable." He then turned back towards Hideki, "I'm afraid, Mr. Motosuwa, that just because I have refused to act does not mean that the Syndicate will just drop the matter."

Hideki tensed, "What do you mean?"

Jima sighed as he answered, "I am not the only agent they have. Once the Syndicate realizes that I have no intention of carrying out my orders, I expect they will find an agent who will. This apartment will be broken into and Chi's data will be erased."

"I won't let that happen!" Hideki all but shouted.

Jima shook his head, "I'm afraid there is little you could do. If you interfered you would be restrained. If you continued to struggle you would be killed."

Hideki hung his head. It was the truth, he knew. The first time they had met, Jima had handled him easily enough. Still, what choice did he have? He couldn't just stand aside and just let his beloved be killed. He would fight, even if it meant his own destruction.

Jima watched Hideki's face, saw the determination to resist, no matter what, "Don't worry Mr. Motosuwa. Even though you cannot stand against the Syndicate, I can. Or, more to the point, Dita can. She is a very special persocom." Jima's voice seemed to suggest there was a deeper meaning to his words. He reached out and took Dita's hand, causing her to blush.

"It won't be easy," Jima warned, "Once the Syndicate realizes that direct action is useless they'll try to find some way to force you to give up Chi voluntarily."

"What? No way! I'd never turn her over to them."

"Good. I certainly hope so. You see, my fate is now tied to Chi's. I am afraid that I am, or will soon be, considered a rogue agent. My destruction will be sought as much as hers. We will stand or fall together, " Jima replied. "Please go get Ms. Hibiya and Mr. Kokubunji, there is much we need to discuss."


	5. Chi Endangered

Chapter Five

Chi Endangered

Minoru sighed and leaned back in his chair, and then stood and stretched. Three weeks had passed since Chi's accident, and Minoru has spent much of his days, including a good portion of the time he should have been sleeping, down in the hidden room underneath the apartment complex. Despite what he had earlier thought, attempting to decipher Chi's blueprints and technical data was proving to be a monumental, and possibly unsolvable, task. Even though her technology was nearly eight years old, certain aspects of it were more advanced than anything he had ever encountered. Even the systems that were, more or less, familiar were also much more complex than they would have been in a normal persocom.

Minoru sighed again and looked up the stairs towards the apartment above as he contemplated his dilemma. He knew Hideki was up there, probably taking a nap before heading to work. Minoru considered Hideki a friend, a rarity in his life. His intelligence made it hard to make friends his own age, he considered most of them unbearably childish, and his wealth and youth distanced him from most adults. Therefore, Minoru valued the few friendships he made very highly, and the thought of failing any one of them frustrated him. However, the more he explored the immense store of knowledge in the computers that surrounded him, the more impossible his task seemed to become.

Shaking his head, Minoru sat back down at the console in the middle of the room. He wasn't quite ready to give up. After all, the systems in this room had access to almost all the data concerning every persocom ever built. Surely the answer had to be in there, somewhere. The only other option would be to go upstairs and admit his failure to Hideki, something he just could not bring himself to do.

Despite the fact that he tried to keep a calm, even cool and distant, demeanor, Minoru had been increasingly worried about Hideki's well being lately. Hideki was obviously not sleeping well and he was appearing more worn out by the day. He drooped from exhaustion and sometimes seemed to have trouble focusing. Minoru was afraid that admitting that Chi was beyond his ability to repair would cause Hideki to snap completely. However, Minoru was plagued by the thought that, by not admitting the truth, he was lying to his friend.

Banishing his wandering thoughts, Minoru dived back into his work. No, he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He would find the answer. _And if I keep telling myself that_, Minoru thought with a touch of black humor, _maybe I'll start believing it_.

(***)

Ms. Hibiya was busy chopping vegetables for lunch. She was also keeping a surreptitious eye on Hideki, who was sitting down and leaning against a nearby corner, sleeping fitfully. The last three weeks had been hard on him, he had grown pale and haggard and, despite her best efforts to keep him fed, he was losing weight. She wanted desperately to do something, anything, to ease his mind and chase away the nightmares that haunted him, not just because Chi loved him but because Ms. Hibiya had come to care for him like the son she had never had. Unfortunately, the one sure thing that would comfort him, the promise that Chi would one day return to him, could turn out to be a lie. Minoru had been working ceaselessly for weeks and had found no solution, and his continued silence spoke volumes about the impossibility of his task. As more and more time passed, reuniting Chi and Hideki began to look more and more like an unachievable dream.

By not telling him of the true difficulties that she and Minoru were facing in trying to rebuild Chi, and how futile their efforts might be, Ms. Hibiya had allowed Hideki to hope. Had she made a mistake by not being honest from the beginning? Each day that she put off telling him would only add to his pain if she had to admit failure. And yet, she could not bring herself to destroy his only source of hope. She knew the decision could not be put off indefinitely. Hideki wasn't stupid, after all, and he would realize what her and Minoru's reluctance to discuss the subject meant sooner or later.

And then there was the threat of attacks from the Syndicate. Jima and Dita had handed the first incursions easily enough, and, after almost two weeks, the Syndicate had seemed to abandon direct action However, there was now a sense of anticipation, of waiting, like the slow build up of thunderclouds on a spring day, and an almost unnatural quiet had descended on the apartment complex. Even Minoru, who was normally almost preternaturally calm, had seemed slightly jumpy lately.

With a small sigh, Ms. Hibiya dismissed her wandering thoughts about Hideki and the Syndicate and focused instead on the vegetables she was preparing for lunch. Even if she couldn't offer Hideki the comfort he needed, she could at least make sure he ate something.

(***)

Hideki stirred in his sleep and then awoke with a gasp. He leaned forward from where he was propped against a wall and held his head in his hands. Another nightmare. More accurately, the same nightmare he had been having almost every time he closed his eyes: Chi tumbling through the air, then crashing to the ground, her limbs splayed, her body broken. Hideki had hoped that the passage of time would cause the events of that horrible night to quit haunting him, although he also felt guilty about wanting to forget.

Hideki had hoped burying himself in work would leave him too tired to dream. That plan hadn't worked, instead it left him dragging through day after seeming endless day feeling more and more exhausted. He felt so helpless, so useless. He knew that Minoru and Ms. Hibiya were working as hard as they could and he also knew there was nothing he could do to aid either of them. Lately, it seemed as if neither of them wanted to talk to him, to explain what was going on. Hideki knew what that probably meant, and he didn't blame them for not coming out and saying it. He knew he wasn't handling things well and they were probably afraid that he would come unglued if they admitted that Chi was gone forever.

_And would they be far from wrong? _Hideki wondered to himself. _It isn't like I am the model of good mental health as it is. Even if I can't do anything useful, I could at least act like a man and stop moping around. My friends have more than enough to worry about, what with this Syndicate business, without adding me to their list. Ms. Hibiya hasn't come apart and she has lost as much as I have and more. I have to pull myself together. It is unfair to my friends and unworthy of Chi's memory to just lie around like this._

Hideki straightened his back and squared his shoulders. No more self pity. It would be hard and it would hurt, but no one ever said life was easy. He would hold all his memories of Chi close to his heart and never give up hope of being with her again, but he would no longer allow the pain of separation reduce him to little more than a walking zombie. _ I guess I should go apologize to Ms. Hibiya and Minoru,_ Hideki thought, _I know I've been a burden to both of them, and they've watched over me, worried about me, without complaint._

Decision made, Hideki got his feet under him and prepared to stand. Before he could get more than half way up, Sumomo came bounding over. "Phone call! Phone call! It's from my master! Phone call!" she announce in her normal overexcited way.

Smiling at her antics, and in anticipation of talking with Shinbo again, Hideki quickly knelt down again. "Shinbo? Put him thorough."

Sumomo nodded and then knelt herself. "Hideki? I gotta talk to you... it's important. I don't... it's all in pieces, everything," Shinbo's voice said through Sumomo.

Hideki stared at Sumomo. He had never heard Shinbo sound like this, rushed, trembling, maybe even frightened, "Shinbo, slow down. Tell me what happened, what is in pieces?"

"I told you, two weeks ago, I think I told you, Takako, Miss Shimizu, got the job she really wanted? An elementary teacher at a small school?"

Hideki thought for a moment, so much of the past few weeks had been a blur, and then nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

Shinbo kept talking, as if he hadn't even heard Hideki, "Well yesterday the school administrator called her into his office. It seems someone brought it to his attention that she had had an 'improper relationship with a student' at her last job."

"Improper relationship? What do you... wait you don't mean–?" Hideki trailed off as he finally understood what Shinbo meant.

"Yes. Me. We're both adults, so, even though it is frowned upon, it normally wouldn't be that big of a deal. However, when you add in the fact that she was married at the time..." Shinbo paused for a moment, and then went on in an agonized sounding voice, "He fired her. He said he wanted to avoid gossip and scandal. He then told her he was putting it in her official record, that she was finished as a teacher. And it is all my fault, all my fault."

Hideki just sat there, slack jawed, for a moment trying to grasp what Shinbo had said, trying to find something to say. "Of course this isn't your fault, Shinbo," he managed after a moment.

Shinbo just made a harsh little sound, "No? Who is the one who forced himself into her life, forced her into a relationship she didn't want? If it wasn't for me, if I just had left her alone, this would have never happened, her dreams would never have been destroyed!"

"And she would still be trapped in a loveless marriage, never have fallen in love with someone who truly cares for her, and never gotten a chance to live her dreams in the first place," Hideki countered.

Shinbo just laughed bitterly, "What does any of that matter now? She won't talk to me, Hideki! She just walked out after telling me what happened and now she is back in the park where I first met her, sitting on those swings, rocking back and forth. She won't listen to me, she won't even acknowledge I exist. We were supposed to get married in less than a month, and now? Everything is in pieces and I don't know what to do!"

"You need to stay with her, let her know that she isn't alone. Even if she won't talk to you, make sure she knows you are there for her, no matter what. This isn't your fault, and she doesn't blame you, I'm sure of it. You shouldn't blame yourself; you shouldn't allow your guilt to prevent you from being at her side when she needs you most. Remember that you love each other and you will get through this."

There was a long pause and then Shinbo took a deep breath. "Yeah. I do love her. And you're right, I panicked, I let my fear, and my guilt, keep me from her. Listen, I'm going to go back to that park, try to talk to her again. Even if she won't talk, to me, I'll just sit on the swing next her until she is ready to come home again, just so she won't be alone. Thanks, Hideki. You're pretty smart about relationships," Shinbo paused again and then continued in an almost normal tone of voice, "for a virgin."

"Shinbo!" Hideki said in a half strangled tone.

(***)

Hideki leaned back against the wall of his apartment with a contented sigh. Two days had passed since Shinbo's call and Hideki had spent most of that time attempting to get his life back in order. He had been busy most of this morning cleaning his apartment, including taking care of a small mountain of laundry. Now that his chores were done, he was resting and basking in the pleasant feeling of a job well done.

Hideki looked over at his clock and noticed it was nearly noon, almost lunchtime. He knew that if he didn't head downstairs soon, Ms. Hibiya would probably come looking for him. She seemed to think he wasn't eating right. Given how loose his clothes had gotten lately, he couldn't really argue.

With a sigh, Hideki heaved himself to his feet. He still felt worn out, exhausted really, most of the time. While many things in his life had changed for the better over the past two days, unfortunately his insomnia was not one of them. Irregardless, he was done feeling sorry for himself. He had work to do and a life to live, and, besides, he was actually getting used to being chronically short on sleep.

Shaking his head to clear it, Hideki made his way to the door of his apartment. As he was reaching for the handle, there came a tentative knock on his door. He drew his hand back for a second in surprise, and then opened the door. As soon as it opened, the person on the other side flung herself into Hideki's arms. He instinctively hugged the person close, his brain confusedly thinking that it was Chi, somehow come back to him. After a second, he realized that it was not Chi, after all, but Yumi, who had buried her head on his chest and was sobbing quietly.

Hideki just stood there for a few moments, looking down at Yumi in bewilderment. He realized that she was still wearing her uniform from Tirol. Had something happened between her and Mr. Ueda? Or had something happened to him? Hideki gave a mental shrug. There was no use trying to puzzle out what had happened, when Yumi calmed down she would certainly tell him everything.

After a few minutes, Yumi took a deep breath and pushed herself away from Hideki. "Oh, your shirt! I'm so sorry senpai, I didn't know anyone else who could help me."

Hideki looked down at his shirt. Sure enough, his once white shirt was now wet and stained with Yumi's make up. Hideki just waved his hand, "Please don't worry about it. What is wrong? Is Mr. Ueda alright?"

Yumi gave a choked sob, "He... he... we were working together... and then... two policemen came. They arrested him, just dragged him right out of the store! Oh senpai, I don't know what to do!" With a wail, she sank down onto the floor and starting crying again.

Hideki could only stare at her in total confusion. Mr. Ueda, arrested? That made no sense. What could he have done? Postponing that line of thought, Hideki sat down on the floor next to Yumi and held her close.

(***)

It took a little while for Yumi to get control of herself again, and a while longer for Hideki to piece the story together. Once he understood the situation, and once Yumi had calmed down, Hideki had sent her down to talk to Ms. Hibiya while he changed his shirt and went to work, having completely missed lunch. Now he was walking to Yorokonde and thinking about what Yumi had told him.

Mr. Ueda had been arrested for having sex with a minor. Even though Yumi was now eighteen, she had still been seventeen when she had started working at Tirol. She had also been seventeen when she and Mr. Ueda had first started dating. While nothing had happened between them before they broke up, someone had sent an anonymous letter to the police claiming otherwise, a letter which included some rather incriminating photos. Yumi claimed those pictures were fake, and Hideki believed her. However, the police had been forced to take action and arrest Mr. Ueda.

Hideki didn't believe the charges would stick. Since neither Yumi nor her father would claim anything untoward had happened, the only evidence was those photos. With the prevalence of digital photo manipulation, that wasn't enough to make a case. Once you added in the fact that the supposed victim was getting married to the accused and the police would likely drop the charges fairly quickly. However, Mr. Ueda was still a semi-celebrity because of his prior marriage to a persocom. If the media got wind of his arrest they would spread the story all over the place, not caring if he was actually guilty or not. That kind of press could ruin his business; no one would want to buy anything from an accused child molester.

Hideki frowned as he walked. First Ms. Shimizu gets fired because someone told the school administrator about her relationship with Shinbo, and now Mr. Ueda gets arrested for his relationship with Yumi. Were the two events linked, or were they just coincidence? Hideki had thought that perhaps Ms. Shimizu's ex-husband had made the call that had gotten her fired, now he wasn't so sure. Jima had warned that the Syndicate hadn't given up. Were they now striking out at his friends?

Hideki shivered and looked around quickly, feeling like he was being watched. Of course he saw nothing, but that didn't mean he wasn't being observed. The Syndicate had Chi under observation for almost six months prior to her accident and Hideki had suspected nothing until Jima had told him about it. _Just because you are paranoid_, Hideki thought with grim humor, _doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you._

Hideki took another quick look around and realized he had been wrong earlier, someone _was_ watching him. A female persocom on the other side of the street had stopped stock still, and was staring at him, her face blank, while her owner pulled on her arm trying to get her to move. Hideki stared back, trying to remember why the way she was acting seemed so familiar. He finally recalled the elusive memory, his mind flashing back to the night that Chi had been in the peep show, the night that all the persocoms had come to a stop. Hideki knew, now, that Chi had caused that, somehow, with a defensive program buried in her operating system. But that couldn't be the case now, could it? Only one persocom was affected, and Chi was asleep, her data in storage.

Hideki looked both ways for oncoming traffic and began to cross the street, intent on getting a closer look. Before he could take more than a few steps, the persocom turned back to her owner and started talking as if nothing had happened. After a brief flurry of confusion, both owner and persocom began walking down the sidewalk. Before Hideki could finish crossing the street and catch up they were lost in the crowd. Hideki stared after them for a moment and then shrugged and turned away, walking towards Yorokonde again. With all the other problems in his life, he decided that one persocom acting strangely wasn't a big deal.

(***)

Arriving at work, Hideki paused for a moment to compose himself, banishing thoughts of his friends' problems and strange persocoms so he could concentrate on work. With a confident stride and a smile on his face, neither of which he really felt, he prepared for another long shift.

He got only as far as his locker when his boss, Mr. Oomura, caught up to him. "Ah, Mr. Motosuwa. We... ah... we have to talk," he said hesitantly, not making eye contact. "I know that you have been having a rough time lately. However, I have been getting... ah... some customer complaints. Ah..that is, your job performance has been very poor. I'm sorry, yes, very sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go.

Hideki just stared at Mr. Oomura, his mouth agape. Had he just been fired? He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, unable to think of anything.

Mr. Oomura continued, still looking away from Hideki and shuffling his feet nervously, "Ah, I know this is sudden and unexpected. You've been a valued employee. Ah, that is, I've gone ahead and drawn your wages for the week... here, please take it with my apology." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and thrust it out, almost blindly, towards Hideki. When Hideki took it, Mr. Oomura turned quickly and strode quickly from the room without a further word.

Shortly thereafter, Hideki found himself walking down the street towards his apartment. He had no memory of walking out of Yorokonde, his mind still in a daze from being abruptly fired. He stopped and looked down at the envelope still clutched tightly in one hand and then frowned. Somehow, it didn't feel right, was it thicker than it was supposed to be? Opening it, he looked inside and then almost dropped it in shock. He had worked nearly twenty hours this week and should have been paid 16,000 Yen. Instead, there appeared to be nearly three, or even four, times as many notes as there should have been, a full two weeks wages instead on one half week. Tucked on top there was a folded sheet of paper.

Hideki pulled the paper out and stuffed the envelope full of money into his pants pocket. The folded piece of paper turned out to be a letter. "Mr. Motosuwa," it began, "please accept my apologies for terminating you so abruptly. Please understand, this wasn't done by my choice. While I can't, and won't, go into the full reasons why, suffice it to say that I owed a favor to some less than savory individuals. I was approached yesterday and was told that my account would be cleared if I fired you. While it went unsaid, it was clearly understood that something unfortunate would happen to me, or worse my family, if I refused. In the end, I took the coward's way out and complied, for which I am truly sorry. You have been a valuable employee, and, more importantly, a good friend to my daughter when she needed it most. I know it doesn't make up for the wrong I have done you, but please accept the money I have included as a partial apology."

Hideki read and then re-read the letter, finally understanding why Mr. Oomura had acted so strangely. He had been pressured into firing Hideki against his better judgment, but by whom? Hideki stared up at the sky as he marshaled his scattered thoughts. First Shinbo and Ms. Shimizu, then Yumi and Mr. Ueda, and now this, all in one week. Coincidence? Hideki shook his head, no. There could only be one answer to this: the Syndicate was finally making another move. But what were they hoping to gain from all of this? He loved Chi, and, as much as these events pained him, it wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough, to make him betray her. Certainly the Syndicate had to know that, didn't they?

Hideki shrugged and then began walking towards home. While losing his job was terrible, perhaps he could get some benefit from it and finally catch up on the sleep he had been missing. Then he would hit the pavement and try to get a new job. Even discounting rent and bills, college would start soon and books and materials would be expensive.

(***)

Arriving at the Gub Jogasaki, Hideki collected his mail. When he saw a notice from his bank on top, he stared at for a second with a sense of foreboding. His account statement came at the beginning of the month, not the middle, so this could only be bad news. Without moving from in front of the mailboxes, Hideki quickly opened the letter and then cursed softly as he read it. Somehow he had managed to overdraw his account and he owed the bank several thousand Yen. Hideki glanced down at his pants pocket and grimaced. The last paycheck from Yorokonde, even with the bonus, would barely cover this. Now he had even more motivation to get a new job quickly. Even if Ms. Hibiya didn't come after him for the rent, he'd run out of money in two weeks, maybe less. At which point he'd have to choose between starvation or returning to his parent's farm in defeat, giving up on his dream of going to college. More importantly, he'd be forced to abandon Chi, something he absolutely didn't want to do.

With a sigh, he trudged upstairs. He just wanted this terrible day to be over, even if it was only mid-afternoon. After entering his apartment and slipping off his shoes, he dropped the rest of the mail on the table to be dealt with later. He then went to the closet, intent on grabbing the futon and going to bed.

Before he could get more than two steps, Kotoko hopped down from the window sill and walked towards Hideki, curious as to why he was home so early. "Well, you weren't gone long. What happened, did you get fired?" she asked. When Hideki only stared at her and said nothing her eyes widened in shock. "I was joking. But you aren't, are you? You really were fired?"

Hideki nodded mutely, too tired to want to get into a discussion. He turned away from Kotoko and opened the closet, trying to forestall any more questions.

Kotoko looked at Hideki for a moment as she thought things through. "It wasn't your fault, was it?" Taking Hideki's continued silence as assent she continued, "So, Yumi shows up this morning crying about Mr. Ueda, Mr Shinbo called two days ago in a panic about Ms. Shimizu, and now this. The Syndicate hasn't given up after all, it appears. I wonder what new disaster they are planning?"

As if in answer, a loud knock came at the door. "Mr. Motosuwa, open up!" a firm voice shouted from outside, "This is the police, we have a warrant for your arrest."


	6. Chi in Question

Chapter Six

Chi in Question

The holding cell was small, perhaps 3 meters by 3 meters, with whitewashed cinder block walls and a grimy concrete floor with a drain near the center of the room. The only furnishings in the room were a bench bolted to the floor along the wall opposite the door and a small stainless steel toilet in a corner. In the opposite corner, as far from the toilet as possible, Hideki had placed the thin, almost unpadded, plastic futon, folded double with a thin scratchy sheet on top. Hideki was sitting on the futon, propped up against the corner, staring at his socked feet (the police had taken his shoes and his belt) and trying to figure out how exactly he had gotten into this mess.

(***)

Several hours before, how many Hideki was not sure, the police had come storming into his apartment. He had been arrested, handcuffed, and unceremoniously dragged down the stairs and dumped into a waiting police car. A short time later two policemen got into the car and took Hideki to the police station.

Once there, Hideki had been processed, fingerprinted, had his belt, shoes, and the contents of his pockets taken, tagged, and stored, and then he had been placed, still handcuffed, into a windowless room with a steel table bolted to the floor and several plastic chairs around it. From numerous movies and crime dramas, Hideki recognized the place as an interrogation room. The only difference was, instead of the cliché one way mirror, there was a CCTV camera high up in one corner. After an indeterminable, and seemingly endless, length of time two plain-clothed policemen had entered the room and sat opposite Hideki. One looked like the typical movie cop; a middle aged, balding, beefy ex-athlete who had gained weight as he aged. The other was tall, perhaps a head taller than Hideki, and rail thin, and his suit looked more expensive, and much better cared for, than his partner's cheap, off the rack suit.

The tall and thin cop slapped a folder on the table as he sat down. "I don't suppose you want to save us a lot of time, and yourself a lot of trouble, by confessing?" he said without any preamble.

Hideki just looked at him confusedly. "Confess to what? I don't even know what I am supposed to have done!"

The middle aged cop sighed as he sat down, "You hear that Yoshi? He doesn't know. I guess we better let him go." He gave a harsh snort of laughter.

His partner gave him a quick quelling glance and then pulled a photo from the folder and slapped it on the table in front of Hideki. In the photo what could only be a body lay in pool of blood, slumped against a tire of a car. "Perhaps, Mr. Motosuwa, that jars your memory?"

Hideki recoiled and quickly shook his head no.

Continuing without even waiting for Hideki's reaction, the cop said, "That was Mr. Togishi Niguri. Though I guess you never knew his name, did you? We found an interesting pattern of dents on the bumper and hood of his car, like he had hit someone at high speed. However, when we tested those dents for blood and hair, we didn't find any. Instead, we found synthetic polymers consistent with the skin of a persocom. Interestingly enough, we have had only one report of a hit and run involving a persocom in the last month. Can you guess who made that report, Mr. Motosuwa?"

Hideki felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. On Ms. Hibiya's recommendation, Hideki had reported Chi's accident to the police. That meant that the dead body that the police had found had to be the same man who had run Chi down. Hideki tried to feel remorse at the man's death, but a tiny corner of his soul couldn't help but feel a frisson of dark joy.

After a pause the cop went on, "I understand, Mr. Motosuwa. You cared for this persocom, Chi was it? So, when you recognized the car, you followed it into the parking garage. You were too late to catch up to the owner, so you went to a nearby phone, perhaps to report him to the police. Instead of making the call, you decided to go back and wait for him, to confront him in person. When he returned to his car, you got in an argument and you struck him, knocking him down. In a fit of rage, you grabbed a hunk of concrete off the ground and beat him, again and again, until he stopped moving. Isn't that right, Mr. Motosuwa?"

Hideki could only shake his head back and forth; he hadn't done this terrible thing.

The beefy cop sighed again. "Kid, you are in a world of hurt, you just don't know it yet. You confess now, maybe the judge will take mercy on you. Crime of passion, perhaps you'll get twenty or thirty years. In fifteen you can get paroled, and you'll still have most of your life in front of you. Continue to act dumb, you'll be in prison until you're old and gray."

After another quelling glance at his partner, Yoshi pulled another photograph from the folder and slapped it on the table on top of the other one. This one was obviously a still shot from a security camera, the quality was poor and the picture was grainy. The person standing over the dead man with a chunk of concrete in one hand was still recognizable, however, and Hideki could only stare in horror at his own face staring back at him from the photograph.

(***)

Hideki looked around at the cell and contemplated his more than likely bleak future. Perhaps that cop was right; maybe he should just go ahead and confess. There was more than enough evidence to convict him, despite his protests to the contrary. His life might as well be over... no job, no money for college, and now in jail for murder. _Well, on the bright side, things can't very well get worse_, he thought, with a touch of grim humor coloring his otherwise gray thoughts.

His stomach rumbled, reminding Hideki that he had missed lunch and dinner now as well. With a mental shrug, he spread his futon on the floor. He'd gone hungry before, and it wasn't like he was actually looking forward to eating prison food anyway. Instead, he lay down and closed his eyes. Although he wasn't very comfortable, he _was_ very tired and more than ready for this terrible day to be over. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd wake up in his apartment, and this whole mess would have been a dream.

Hideki had just closed his eyes when, with a loud snap and rattle, the door to his cell was unlocked and opened. A police man stepped into the doorway and gestured impatiently at Hideki, "Come on, get up. Your lawyer is here."

Hideki got to his feet, groggily and half asleep and stepped over to the door. A feeling of hope blossomed in his chest. He hadn't called a lawyer; he hadn't had a chance to call anyone yet. So, if there was a lawyer here that had to mean the Ms. Hibiya or Minoru had to have called him. Maybe someone had found a way out, some way to get the charges dismissed.

(***)

Once again Hideki found himself handcuffed and sitting in the interrogation room. And once again, time seemed to crawl by. Even though he was certain that only minutes had passed, it still felt like hours until the lawyer stepped through the door. He was a big man, about Hideki's height but heavier, most of it muscle but there was some thickening around his middle that his suit couldn't quite disguise. The suit itself was a dark blue pinstripe, elegantly tailored, and Hideki figured that it cost more than he used to make in a year. The lawyer's face was made of sharp lines and planes, like he had been rough hewn from rock, his eyes were an odd shade of green, and his hair was black shot with silver. All told, he looked both very intelligent and very competent. And yet, something about him awakened a distant feeling of unease in Hideki, like alarm bells heard from very far away.

The lawyer stopped in the door, gestured to someone outside, and then pointed at the camera in the corner. "Turn it off, now. Lawyer-client meetings are confidential," he snarled at the unseen someone. "Damn incompetent idiots," he said underneath his breath. After a second he nodded and stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. He nodded again to Hideki as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Well you've certainly managed to get yourself into quite a bit of trouble," he said and flashed Hideki a bright smile, exposing even white teeth that had obviously been the product of an orthodontist and not Mother Nature.

Hideki could only nod in agreement, "I am so glad to see you. I thought for sure I was going to be stuck in here until I rotted. Who called you? Ms. Hibiya or Minoru?"

The lawyer shook his head, "Ah, I see there is a bit of misunderstanding. No, I was not summoned here by either Chitose Hibiya or Minoru Kokubunji. I am here at the request of, well let's just say, someone with opposing interests."

It took Hideki a moment to comprehend what that meant, and then with a sour feeling of fear in his stomach he understood, "The Syndicate?" he breathed.

The lawyer shook a finger at Hideki like a schoolteacher at a misbehaving student, "Now, now. Both of us know that such a group doesn't officially exist. Who I represent doesn't really matter, anyway. What does matter is what they want from you. You have some property that they wish to, hm, acquire. In turn, they can see to it that your present difficulties vanish, like they had never been."

Hideki shook his head, "Never. I'll never give Chi to them. Nothing you can say, nothing you can offer can change that."

"Now, now, Mr. Motosuwa, let's not be so hasty. You may think that your have hit rock bottom, that things could not get any worse. I am here to assure you that not only can they, they will. Continue to resist, and my employers will have to resort to sterner measures, with unfortunate consequences for both your friends and yourself. It would be shame if something unfortunate happened to that sweet girl, what was her name? Ah yes, Yumi Oomura," said the lawyer, grinning like a shark.

Hideki shot to his feet so quickly his chair fell over backwards. He slammed his handcuffed hands down on the table with a loud bang, "You touch my friends... I'll- I'll," shouted Hideki, shaking and inarticulate with rage.

"Do nothing," said the lawyer flatly, standing up himself. He walked around the table and picked up Hideki's chair and then pushed Hideki into it with a casual show of strength. He then walked back to his chair, but remained standing, his face calm like nothing had happened. "You are powerless. Even if you were free, which you are not, you still could accomplish nothing. All your posturing and threats will achieve nothing. Still, if you refuse, you refuse. Perhaps Ms. Hibiya will be more tractable after she sees what has happened to you. If not, perhaps we can find another way to persuade her."

The lawyer turned and walked to the door, and paused with his hand on the handle, "Last chance, Mr. Motosuwa. Once I walk out this door, that's it. Are you certain your principals and morals are worth thirty years of your life?" When Hideki remained silent, the lawyer shrugged and walked out the door without a second glance.

(***)

Once again, Hideki found himself back in the holding cell. He lay on his back, looking at the ceiling and trying to find some way out of his current predicament. Unfortunately, he could see no way out; he was trapped like a rat in a trap. Tomorrow he would be hauled in front of a judge, arraigned, and his court date set. Then would come his big day in court, which, with all the evidence that the cops had against him, would probably be over quickly. Then he would be stuck in prison for a long, long time. His life was ruined. Worse, in a way, was the fact that he would break his promise to Chi. He had promised to be there when she next awakened. Now if – no, not if, when, he had to believe she would awaken some day – she did, he would be trapped far from her side.

With a sigh, Hideki rolled over and tried to sleep. How long he laid there, eyes closed, fighting to get the sleep he wanted, he could not tell. He was still wide awake, however, when the door ground open again. "Mr. Motosuwa? Grab your stuff, come with me," said the police officer in the doorway.

Hideki obediently collected his futon and sheet and walked to door, while trying to figure out what was going on. The police officer wordlessly pointed to a bin down the hall and Hideki dumped his futon and sheet inside. He was then handcuffed and led back to the front desk of the police station. Then the cop took off Hideki's handcuffs and left without a word.

The man behind the desk gave Hideki a paper bag with all of his belongings inside and a form to sign. "Please open the bag, make sure everything that belongs to you is inside, and then sign the form." the policeman said, in a bored tone of voice.

Hideki looked in the bag, saw his shoes belt, and wallet, and then closed the bag and signed the form. "What is going on? Nobody has told me anything," he asked.

The policeman shook his head, "You weren't told? You're being released. The door is over there. Please wait a moment, though, we'll need to get an officer to escort you out."

(***)

Hideki stood on the sidewalk outside the police station and looked around in a daze. What had just happened? One moment he was sure he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, the next he was rudely dumped out the door with no explanation. He took a deep breath of the outside air and decided that he wasn't going to complain, no matter how strange it seemed. Still, he was stranded in a section of Tokyo he had never visited before. He had no idea where his apartment was from here, nor how far away it was. Hideki shrugged and started looking for the nearest pay phone. A taxi cost more than he wanted to pay right now, but he didn't have a lot of choice.

"Senpai!" called out a very familiar voice, "Over here senpai!" Hideki turned around and saw Yumi waving from the open door of a taxi.

Once Hideki climbed into the taxi, Yumi gave the driver the address of the apartment complex. Once the taxi was underway, she turned back to Hideki with a smile, "I'm glad I could help you out for a change."

"Yeah, I was wondering how I was going to get home," Hideki admitted, "but how did you know I needed to be picked up?"

"Minoru told me. He hired a lawyer to help get you out of that mess, and apparently he did a good job. The lawyer called about an hour ago and said you would be released shortly. I realized you'd be stuck in downtown Tokyo with no way home, so I volunteered to go fetch you."

Hideki thought about that for a moment and nodded, "I'm glad you did. I'm so tired I can hardly keep myself awake. It has been a long, rough day."

Yumi frowned, "Yeah, I heard about you getting fired. Dad won't talk about it and I'm not talking to him, either. After all you've done for him; and me too."

Hideki just waved his hand, "Don't blame him too much. He really didn't have a choice. I'm sure I'll find another job." He yawned and then stretched, "After I get a good night's rest."

(***)

By the time the taxi arrived at the Gub Jogasaki, Hideki was mostly asleep. Yumi had to shake him fairly hard to get him on his feet and headed towards the apartment complex. He was so tired and out of it he didn't argue when Yumi paid the cab fare, even though he hated relying on others to take care of things like that.

He stumbled through the front door of the apartment complex and stopped near the stairs, looking up towards his apartment and then left towards Ms. Hibiya's apartment. He had a head full of questions, but he was also nearly exhausted as well. In the end, he decided he would sleep better once he got some answers and so shambled to the left, with Yumi following behind with a concerned look on her face.

Ms. Hibiya answered her door and gave Hideki a quick smile and a brief hug, and then led him to the living room, where a small gathering of people and persocoms was already sitting around a table. Minoru, Yuzuki, and Mr. Ueda were sitting on one side, and Jima and Ditta were on the other. Kotoko and Sumomo were sitting on the table, Kotoko sitting perfectly still and Sumomo bouncing back and forth. As soon as Sumomo saw Hideki she jumped up, "Master! I was afraid I'd never see you again after those bad, bad, men took you away!" She then leaped from the table onto Yuzuki's shoulder, and from there onto Hideki's left arm. She then crawled up his arm to his shoulder, where she sat back down and started humming contentedly.

Kotoko stared at Sumomo for a second, and then shook her head, "I, too, was worried about you, Mr. Motosuwa. I'm afraid your apartment is a bit of a mess," she said, and then paused, "Well, more of a mess than it usually is, anyway. The police had a search warrant and they turned things upside down fairly thoroughly, I'm afraid."

Hideki sat down beside Jima with a sigh. "Great. I just got done cleaning it this morning. Oh well, I'll take care of it in the morning."

Ms. Hibiya sat down at the head of the table and then looked over at Hideki, "I'll help, if you like."

"And me!" Yumi chimed in as she sat next to Mr. Ueda and leaned against his shoulder.

Hideki thought about having the two women in his apartment and about all the magazines and such he would much rather they not see and blushed "Um, don't worry about it, I'll handle it," he mumbled.

Kotoko shot him a sharp look, "Really. Refusing help that you obviously need. Are you embarrassed about the contents of your closet, or maybe your choice in reading material?"

Hideki turned an even darker shade of red and everyone at the table laughed. Ms. Hibiya spoke softly, "Don't be embarrassed Mr. Motosuwa. Being young is nothing to be ashamed about. You need the help after all you've been through, and I won't hear any argument."

Hideki could only nod gratefully. He then turned to Minoru, "Thanks. I don't know how you got me out of there, but I owe you one."

Minoru shrugged, "I'm glad I was able to help. I had already contacted the family lawyer once today, when Ms. Oomura told me what had happened to Mr. Ueda. It was a fairly simple matter to have him work on both cases at once."

Mr. Ueda chimed in, "Thanks to Minoru, I was released about three hours ago, Hideki. Although I wasn't in nearly as much trouble as you were. The police were already going to let me go once they heard from Yumi and her father, the lawyer just expedited things a bit and kept the media away."

Hideki nodded, "Yeah, that could have been a big mess if word had gotten out, even though the charges were dismissed." He then turned to Minoru, "I still don't understand what the lawyer did, though. I saw the evidence against me. I was beginning to doubt my own innocence."

Minoru smiled briefly, "It turns out that the police made a rather large error in investigating the case. Did they ever tell you when the murder occurred?" When Hideki shook his head no, Minoru continued, "Last week, Thursday evening between ten and eleven at night."

Hideki thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that was a pretty big mistake alright. I was at work, there was no way I could have killed that guy."

"Yes, and there was at least a dozen witnesses, and probably more, who saw you there. When my lawyer pointed that fact out to the detective in charge of the case, the police had no choice but to let you go." Minoru frowned for a moment, "I suspect that this isn't the last you'll hear on the matter. Even though you are cleared of the actual murder, the fact is that someone went to a great deal of trouble to frame you, and I'm sure the police will want to ask you if you have any idea who that someone is."

"And it isn't like I can tell them. They'll think I'm crazy or something if I tell them it is all a big government conspiracy," Hideki complained.

Minoru nodded agreement, "Just admit ignorance and you should be okay. I am curious, though, how the Syndicate could have made such a big mistake. I would have thought that the first thing they would have done is check your work schedule to make sure you didn't have such a reliable alibi."

Hideki laughed, "That is one question I can answer. They probably did check my work schedule. I was supposed to be off that night, but someone called in sick at the last minute and I was the only person that was willing to come in on such short notice."

Minoru thought for a moment and nodded, "Such an intricate plan, brought down by something so simple. That was a lucky mistake, because, according to the lawyer, there was little he could have done for you if you hadn't had such a good alibi... The case against you was solid and nearly airtight."

Hideki nodded and then shivered, "Yeah, I saw a still picture from the surveillance camera. I don't know how they did it, but the killer looked exactly like me."

Jima spoke up for first time, "It is rather simple. The Syndicate keeps several 'blank' persocoms for just such uses. Their faces and hair can be adapted to resemble anyone they want; even their height and build can be adjusted to a limited degree. It wouldn't fool anyone who knew the person well, but would be more than good enough when seen through a low quality CCTV camera."

"What I don't understand," Hideki said, "is why the Syndicate is going through all this trouble. Chi isn't some great threat. I know she can do some things other persocoms' can't, but she would never deliberately harm anyone."

Ms. Hibiya sighed, "Unfortunately it isn't that easy to explain. It was never just about how much of a threat, potential or actual, that Chi was or could be. The Syndicate has always hated my husband; they felt that he had betrayed them. And, perhaps he did. It was because of him that the Syndicate was first formed.

"It began twelve years ago. Dr. Ichiro and I had been married just a short time. I had just found out that I could never have children and I'm afraid I didn't take the news well; I spent time in a hospital being treated for depression. It was then that my husband first had the idea of building Freya, to lift me out of my troubles.

"Unfortunately, he quickly realized that developing and building her would bankrupt his company, so he contacted the industry leaders in electronics and personal computing, as well as some government interests, and proposed an idea. It was then that he unveiled the concept of the persocom, a personal computer in human form. He would develop it and share his research and designs with them, in return for a small percentage of the profits from each persocom sold. After some initial reluctance, most of the businesses he had contacted agreed, and the Syndicate was born.

"Because of doubts on how popular persocoms were going to be, the first production run was small, 10,000 in total. Less than twenty four hours after first going on the market, the last persocom from that production run was sold and the public was clamoring for more. Sales in the first year totaled over one million, and then increased to nearly ten million worldwide the second year.

"My husband was rich, but that wasn't his true goal. He started building the tools he would need to create Freya, and soon he had a top notch research laboratory, plus all the manufacturing equipment he would need to fabricate her systems. He worked day and night for months, designing, testing, building. And then came the day he let me into his laboratory for the first time, and Freya was waiting for me. I will never forget the moment when she opened her eyes, smiled, and called me mother.

"However, that moment also spelled the end of the Syndicate as it was, a mostly private enterprise designed to promote the manufacture and sale of persocoms. As soon as the Syndicate heard about Freya, they demanded that Dr. Ichiro turn over his research as well as her schematics, as per their agreement with him. My husband refused, claiming that Freya was not part of the deal that he had made. In anger, most of the members of the Syndicate left, going back to being individual businesses again.

"Only the governmental interests remained. Their purpose had changed, over time, as they became increasingly concerned with security, Almost all important data, governmental as well as private, was now stored on persocoms. The Syndicate stood guard against hackers, viruses, and other types of cyber terrorism. At the center of their concerns was Dr. Ichiro, the inventor of the persocom, and Freya, the mysterious persocom they knew nothing about. They did not know why my husband had kept Freya's capabilities secret, but they feared the worst.

"They kept a watchful eye on Freya, and Elda when she was born later, and for a time saw nothing out of the ordinary. When Freya died and Elda lost her memory, at first they thought the danger had passed. Their relief proved short lived because shortly thereafter Elda was modified, her defenses augmented and that special program was added. The first test run of her new defensive program seemed to confirm the Syndicate's worse fears; she shut down persocoms across an entire city block, regardless of the amount of security they had. It was then that Jima and Ditta were sent out to find her and neutralize her, before the other completely unknown program could run and cause even worse damage.

"Shortly afterward, my husband died. I took Elda and came here, to a place that the Syndicate knew nothing about. The rest of the story you know.

"With no idea of Chi's true potential, they only see her as a threat. While she was still awake, that threat kept them from attacking her, for fear of the destruction she might cause if provoked. Now that she is helpless, unable to defend herself, they finally see an opportunity to remove that threat, as well as put to rest the last remaining artifact of what they see as Dr. Ichiro's treachery. They will stop at nothing, will do almost anything, to achieve this."

Hideki just stared at Ms. Hibiya and felt a cold shiver run up his back. Do anything? They already proved that they were willing to kill. "If they are so determined, why haven't they sent enough agents to overwhelm Jima and Ditta?"

Jima laughed, "Ditta is a lot tougher than you'd think. In the end, they'd likely have to destroy most of a city block to be certain of killing her. The Syndicate does have limits to what they are allowed to do, and they must be covert above all else. That much destruction would raise questions that couldn't be answered without risking exposing the Syndicate to the public, something they cannot allow."

Hideki looked at Ditta curiously and Ditta stared blandly back. What secrets was she hiding? Hideki gave a mental shrug; yet more questions without answers. He gave a yawn and then stretched, "I'm going to bed. It has been a long, terrible, exhausting day, and I have a lot to do tomorrow." He stood, then turned to Minoru and smiled. "Thanks Minoru, I mean it. I wasn't looking forward to spending the rest of my life in prison."

Minoru stood as well, waving Yuzuki off when she moved as if to join him, "Think nothing of it, Hideki. The police would have discovered their mistake soon enough." He frowned as he continued, "I need to speak with you a minute, in private. Do you mind if I walk with you to your apartment?"

Hideki nodded, placed Kotoko on his right shoulder, Sumomo was still on his left, and then turned and wearily made his way out of Ms. Hibiya's apartment. Despite the seeming urgency in his request, Minoru seemed to be content to walk quietly beside Hideki until they got upstairs. Once in the apartment, Hideki surveyed the mess left by the police; his closet had been dumped all over the floor, and his belongings were scattered all over. With a sigh, he decided to tackle the mess in the morning and settled for merely clearing a space for his futon for the night.

Minoru watched Hideki for a moment and then spoke up for the first time, sounding unusually nervous. "I am afraid I have failed you, Hideki."

Hideki stopped what he was doing and stared at Minoru in surprise, "What? No, without you I would have spent the night in jail, or worse."

Minoru shook his head, "That is not what I meant." He sighed and stared at his shoes. His normal air of confidence and calm had fled, leaving him looking exactly like what he was: a young boy barely in his teens, small and frail for his age. "I have made a grave error, and I fear I have failed you as a friend. I did not want to admit it, so I have avoided talking to you. But that was a bigger mistake."

Hideki just stood there, as he worked through what Minoru was saying. Even though he didn't understand, not fully, there really could be only one thing that could be bothering Minoru this badly. "This is about Chi, isn't it?"

Minoru nodded, took a deep breath, and then continued, "When Ms. Hibiya contacted me, asked me to help her rebuild Chi, I wasn't sure what I could do that she could not. Still, when she called me I jumped at the chance to help," Minoru turned his gaze downwards again and twisted his foot nervously, "That decision was not motivated completely by altruism. The chance to study Chi's schematics, to get a closer look at the research data of what was once an urban legend, that was the real reason I was so eager to help.

"I did not think rebuilding Chi would be that hard. I thought I would be no more than a glorified lab assistant, fetching and carrying while Ms. Hibiya did the real work. Once I saw the state that Chi was in the truth hit me and I realized how desperate Ms. Hibiya had been to turn to me. So, I had a new reason to help: to prove myself equal to the challenge set before me.

"At first, I thought it would not be that bad. Chi had been built six years ago and I was certain that modern technology had caught up, that it would be a simple matter to modify 'off the shelf' parts to replace her broken systems. From a purely mechanical standpoint, I was correct. While certain systems would need to be extensively modified or even scratch built, I could rebuild her body in a matter of months. Unfortunately, a persocom is more than just a collection of mechanical clockwork. Without sophisticated electronics to animate it, it is merely a giant doll. Dr. Ichiro was a genius, and the electronics he created for his Chobits are works of art, unique. I'm unsure I could replicate his work even if I had access to the same tools he had. What I am sure of is that without those tools, I cannot do so. Chi is beyond recovery, she is gone for good."

Minoru finally raised his head and met Hideki's gaze, "I am sorry Hideki, I have failed you. I was afraid to tell you, afraid of how you would react, afraid of losing you as a friend. And so I kept working, kept searching for a solution even though I knew it was hopeless. I lied to you, allowed you to hope when there was no longer any reason to do so for fear of hurting you.."

Hideki just stood there, rooted in place with shock. While he had suspected for some time that Chi would never come back to him, to hear it spoken out loud, to have his fears confirmed nearly tore his heart in two. Finally he found his voice, "This isn't your fault Minoru. I knew, in my heart I always knew, that she was gone. You worked day and night, worked yourself to the point of exhaustion, I know you did everything you could and more. The only thing you are to blame for is trying to spare the feelings of a friend."

Minoru stared at Hideki for a moment. It was so easy to dismiss him as naive and awkward, but Hideki had a good heart, capable of looking beyond his own grief to comfort a friend, something Minoru was not sure he could have done if the situation had been reversed. "Thank you. I will keep looking. Perhaps there is a miracle buried in those computers. But..."

Hideki nodded in understanding, "I shouldn't get my hopes up. I know."

"Exactly. I am sorry, Hideki, I wish I could do more." Minoru sighed then straightened, in control once again. "For now, perhaps it is best if we both get some rest."

(***)

Minoru had returned home and Hideki had finished cleaning a spot for his futon. Now he lay on his back staring at the ceiling, the sleep he craved had deserted him; finally the truth that had gone unspoken for so long was out in the open: Chi would never awaken from her sleep. Hideki's heart ached, the grief he had suppressed for so long now raged through him, and beyond the grief, there was a problem that nagged at him. While there was still hope, however false, that Chi would come back to him, Hideki had refused to even contemplate turning her over to the Syndicate. However, now that the choice was between his friends and a stubborn desire not to let her go, did he have the right not to? Could he watch his friends suffer pointlessly and not act? Would he be betraying Chi? Hideki pushed those questions away and firmly closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep. There would be time for unanswerable questions after he had gotten some rest. With any luck, tomorrow would be a better day.


	7. Minoru and Yuzuki in Trouble

Chapter Seven

Minoru and Yuzuki in Trouble

After his talk with Hideki, Minoru decided it was time to head home. Midnight had come and gone, and it was long past time he got some sleep. While he walked, his thoughts kept jumping from topic to topic. Whether it was worries over Hideki's well being, concerns about the growing Syndicate mess, or new ideas on how to rebuild Chi, his mind refused to settle down to any one train of thought. Such indecision was unusual for Minoru; normally he was quite good at working on one problem at a time until he solved it. Lately, however, it seemed as if new crises had been occurring on a daily basis. Today had been a prime example, with the police arresting both Hideki and Mr. Ueda. On top of that was the "fake" lawyer that Hideki had mentioned earlier. Therefore his mind turned from one dilemma to the next, never settling, much like a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower.

Yuzuki walked in her usual place, a step behind and to the right of Minoru, where she could keep an eye on him. He would sometimes get so caught up in his thoughts that he would walk into something or out into traffic if she didn't catch him. Lately it seemed that his customary preoccupation was getting worse, and Yuzuki was growing increasingly worried that he would work himself until he collapsed again. Minoru had even been so busy that he hadn't had much time for her. Therefore, even if he was often so distracted he didn't even seem aware that she was there, Yuzuki had come to value the quiet time spent walking to and from the apartment complex.

Because Yuzuki was keeping a close watch on both Minoru and their surroundings she was the first to see the shape jump from a nearby rooftop.. When the persocom – and it had to be a persocom, a human would have broken both legs jumping off a building that high – landed a few meters in front of them Minoru remained oblivious until Yuzuki's gasp startled him out of his reverie.. He stared up at the persocom who had so suddenly appeared in front of him and had to suppress an urge to laugh. The stranger was dressed like he had just stepped out of a bad martial arts movie: he wore a black martial arts gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, a red sash tied at the waist, a matching red bandana tied around his forehead, and leather fingerless gloves. He was over two meters tall and spectacularly muscled, with artfully disarranged black hair; his eyes were also black, and his smile displayed gleaming white teeth.

After casually sauntering closer, like he hadn't just dropped out of nowhere, he offered a shallow bow, "Good evening Mr. Kokubunji. My name is Julian. I have a message for you from my employer."

Minoru took a quick look around and realized the street was deserted. His urge to laugh had been replaced by a cold shiver. "Who is your employer?" he demanded, although he was afraid he already knew the answer.

Julian gave a short laugh, "You are supposed to be a genius. Can you honestly tell me you don't know?"

Minoru nodded, his fears confirmed, "The Syndicate. Well, what do they want from me?"

"You have been interfering in matters that are too big for you, and therefore gained my employer's undivided attention. It would be wise for you to stay home the remainder of the summer, do not return to the Gub Jogasaki and do not contact anyone there."

Even though it felt like ice was crawling up and down his spine, Minoru somehow kept his voice level and calm, "And if I do not wish to stay home?"

Julian shrugged and grinned like a shark, "That would be most unfortunate. I have been instructed to gain your cooperation. If you do not give it willingly, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer an unfortunate accident. These streets aren't safe this late at night, you know."

Yuzuki had been listening closely and she knew that Minoru would never agree to stand aside. This persocom would hurt him, maybe even kill him, and she couldn't, _wouldn't_ allow that. She made a decision, one that she had made once before.

Before Minoru could say anything else, Yuzuki stepped forward, grabbed him and shoved him behind her. "Run!" she shouted before turning to face Julian. She knew she was facing her own destruction, but if it allowed her beloved time to escape, she would be content. With a scream like a wild cat she swung her right hand at Julian's face. So sudden and unexpected were her actions that he had no time to react and her palm smacked loudly across his cheek, her fingernails digging furrows into his skin.

Julian staggered back a step, more in surprise than from the attack. He felt his wounded cheek and his face contorted in anger, "You bitch! Fine, if that is the way you want it." He reached behind him and, with a hiss of metal on leather, drew a long knife from a concealed holster. Before Yuzuki could do anything, Julian stepped up close to her and brought the knife up into her stomach, striking twice, and then stepped back again. Yuzuki stumbled backwards one step and then another. She started to crumple to the ground, tried to straighten but couldn't. After twitching once, she collapsed into an unmoving heap on the sidewalk.

Julian watched her fall and then smiled, "Such a pity… she was kind of cute. Now, where was I?" He looked around and then spotted Minoru standing a few meters away, rooted in place from shock and fear. "Ah, yes. Well, this makes things simple." He started to walk towards Minoru, knife held casually in one hand. "You really should have listened to her. If you had run, you might have gotten away. It doesn't matter now. Just stand still and I'll see what I can do to make this quick."

Before Julian could take more than a couple of steps a voice came from a nearby rooftop, "Hello, Julian. I see you are still attacking the weak and helpless."

Julian scanned the top of the building and then spotted a familiar form, "Hello yourself, Dita. Still whoring yourself to that traitor?"

Dita jumped down from the rooftop and landed between Julian and Minoru. She looked at Julian and shrugged, "My orders were to guard Jima. His actions are not my concern."

"And yet you have attacked Syndicate agents on numerous occasions, and even now you are interfering in legitimate Syndicate business. Do not give me any of that 'just following orders' crap," Julian replied contemptuously.

Dita shrugged again. "I am following my conscience. Unlike you, who has none."

Julian laughed, "Conscience? Have you forgotten what we are? We exist to obey orders. Now, stand aside or I'll do to you what I did to that bitch back there," he gestured vaguely behind him towards Yuzuki's unmoving form.

Dita's eyes narrowed, "I have not forgotten what I am. Perhaps you have? Or maybe you were never trusted with that information?"

He shrugged, "I have no idea what you are talking about. For the last time, stand aside or I will destroy you.

She smiled, "You can try."

With a yell, Julian charged at her, knife raised to strike. Dita waited and, when it looked like the knife must plunge into her chest, stepped lightly aside faster than Julian could react. Suddenly deprived of a target, he stumbled past her, momentarily off balance. With an inhuman reaction speed common to all persocoms, he recovered almost instantly. Unfortunately for him, that left Dita with a small window of opportunity, and she took ruthless advantage of it. She kicked out with her left foot, making solid contact with Julian's right knee, which dislocated with a loud pop. He tumbled to the ground with a curse and immediately tried to stand up again. She never gave him a chance. She jumped on his back, driving him back to the ground by digging her knee into his lower back and then snaked her left arm around his throat.

"That was pathetic. Goodbye, Julian," Dita whispered in his ear. Keeping her knee on his back and her arm around his neck, she heaved herself backwards. His back bent in a tight bow and, for a moment, resisted her efforts. Suddenly, and with another loud pop, something gave way. He thrashed violently for a moment and then grew still. She let him go and Julian's head bounced off the sidewalk with a dull thump.

Dita stood up, looked down at Julian and snorted contemptuously, "You always were a stupid bastard." She then sighed and looked over at Minoru, "Hey, kid, do me a favor? Don't tell Jima about this, okay? For whatever reason, he doesn't like me trashing Syndicate agents."

Minoru nodded and then shook himself, coming out of a daze. He looked around frantically until he saw Yuzuki lying on the sidewalk, and he immediately rushed to her side and knelt down beside her, "Yuzuki! Please, don't be dead, please!"

Dita walked over and bent down to study Yuzuki's injuries. After a few seconds she straightened up, saying, "Kid, we can't hang around here. In a few minutes this place will be crawling with Syndicate agents or cops. If we're having a really good day, both. I think Ms. Hibiya can fix your lady friend, but we must leave now."

Minoru nodded numbly, tears running down his cheeks. Dita patted him consolingly on his shoulder and then scooped Yuzuki off the ground in a fireman's carry. She then gave Minoru an impish grin, "I apologize in advance, but we don't have time for me to walk you home and it definitely isn't safe for you to go by yourself. Hold on."

Minoru looked up at her in confusion. "Hold on? To what—?" He was interrupted when Dita grabbed him and placed him across her other shoulder.

Shrugging her shoulders to settle the weight correctly, she walked back over to the building she had jumped down from. She crouched down and the launched herself straight up, a feat of strength and agility that should have been impossible. Landing safely on the roof, she proceeded to run back towards the Gub Jogasaki, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and using telephone and electrical poles to cross streets and gaps between buildings.

(***)

Once again a broken persocom lay on the diagnostic table in the underground room below the apartment complex. This time, however, the outlook was not quite as grim. Ms. Hibiya looked down at Yuzuki and then over at Minoru, who was pacing back and forth at the bottom of the stairs. "As a rough guess, I'd say that the knife wounds hit her battery pack. This probably caused a short circuit and her circuit breakers shut her down to prevent damage to her electronics." She reached up to a panel above the table and pulled down a cable, pausing. "I'll run diagnostic tests to confirm, of course. Could you show me where her diagnostic connection is?"

Minoru came over to the table and pushed aside Yuzuki's hair at the right side of her head, just above her ear. He then took the cable from Ms. Hibiya and plugged it into the port concealed there. Ms. Hibiya nodded and walked over to the console in the middle of the room, sat down, and started entering commands into the computers at a rapid pace. "The maintenance functions of these computers were only designed to support Chi and Freya," she explained, "They do, however, contain strong heuristic learning routines so I should be able to adapt them for Yuzuki. This shouldn't take long."

Minoru nodded jerkily and resumed pacing. He felt so helpless, and ashamed. Yuzuki had sacrificed herself to save him and he had done nothing but stand there, unable to move. If Dita hadn't shown up, he would have died. For all his vaunted intellect, when it came down to a crisis situation, Yuzuki had been the one to act, not him. Why, why had she been so willing to give her life for him? _ Because she loves you, idiot_, a small voice inside his head spoke up. Minoru stopped pacing and contemplated this new thought. Yuzuki loved him? Could it possibly be true? After another moment's thought, he nodded to himself. Yes. Now that he looked back on her behavior the past weeks, the past months, it was very clear; the subtle touches, the mysterious smiles, the thousand and one small clues that he had noticed but had dismissed at the time.

And what did he feel for her? He cared for her, but did he love her in return? Not just the affection a master feels for a trusted servant, or the love a brother has for his sister, but true romantic love? Minoru struggled for a moment and then gave up. He just didn't know. He felt something, but was it love? The fact was, even though he had accepted intellectually that Yuzuki was her own person, she still resembled his sister in so many ways it made separating his feelings for Yuzuki from his feelings for his sister difficult. Minoru began to pace again, all the while turning over this new realization.

After a few minutes Ms. Hibiya looked up at Minoru with a smile, "There we go. The computers were a little grumpy about it, but I finally convinced them to run the diagnostic tests. It shouldn't take long."

Minoru looked at Ms. Hibiya with a puzzled frown, "Grumpy? Are these computers self aware?"

"Yes," Ms. Hibiya confirmed, "To a degree, at least. The OS that runs these computers is a precursor of the OS that both Chi and Freya use. Not as sophisticated, nor as powerful, but the same core functions."

Minoru stared for a second and then looked around the room in wonder. He had noticed that sometimes data he needed would show up almost before he could search for it, and the intuitive way the interface seemed to know what he needed. He should have realized. Apparently there had been a lot of things he had been missing lately.

A gentle chime halted further conversation and signaled that the diagnostic tests had finished. Ms. Hibiya and Minoru turned to face the display screen over the table and Ms. Hibiya struck a key on the keyboard. As the results scrolled past, Minoru let out a breath that he hadn't even been aware he was holding; the tests showed exactly what Ms. Hibiya had predicted. The damage was mostly limited to Yuzuki's battery pack, with some damage to her abdominal muscles. Most importantly, her electronics and data were both fully intact.

Ms. Hibiya tapped a finger on the console as she thought. She nodded and turned to Minoru. "I believe I have the needed tools and supplies. While this won't be simple, I believe if we work together we'll have Yuzuki back on her feet in a matter of hours."

Minoru wanted to collapse, so great was his relief. Despite Ms. Hibiya's reassurances, he had been afraid that the damage would somehow be irreparable. The news that Yuzuki would soon wake up made him want to shout with joy. An uncharacteristic grin spread across his face as he came to the realization that he did indeed love Yuzuki. He couldn't wait to tell her.

(***)

Ms. Hibiya looked up from the console at the center of the room, "Diagnostic tests don't show any other damage and it looks like we have replaced the last of the wires. You can go ahead and seal her up."

Minoru nodded abstractedly as he labored over Yuzuki's still form, now shrouded in a sheet that covered everything but her abdomen. After another minute he stepped back and studied his work critically. The only remaining trace of her injuries was two faint lines on her skin; the replacement synthetic skin hadn't been an exact match, having been designed for Chi and Freya. Other than that, the operation had gone smoothly.

Ms. Hibiya got up and walked wearily over to stand behind Minoru. It had been a very long day, a longer night, and daybreak was coming soon. "She's ready to be awakened, though she'll need to be recharged soon. The damage discharged a lot of her battery power."

Minoru looked up at Ms. Hibiya and then over at Yuzuki and took a deep breath. He took a step forward and pressed a recessed button above Yuzuki's right ear. For a moment nothing happened and Minoru frowned. Just as he was about to turn to Ms. Hibiya there was a low beep followed by a whirring sound as Yuzuki ran a power on self test. After a moment Yuzuki opened her eyes, data lines streaming across them as her systems initialized. A few more beeps and whirs and then silence returned. Yuzuki's eyes closed again momentarily and then immediately fluttered back open.

She sat still for a moment and then sat up abruptly, head turning this way and that until she caught sight of Minoru. "Master Minoru, I am so glad you are alright. I was worried that you had been hurt," she said, sounding relieved.

"Yuzuki," Minoru breathed, "You were worried about me? I was scared to death that I had lost you."

Yuzuki smiled, "I am a persocom. If I am damaged I can be repaired. If you had been injured, you could not have been repaired."

"Is that why you stepped in front of that mad man? Is that the only reason?" Minoru questioned.

Yuzuki looked away, clearly flustered, "Master Minoru, it is not proper for me to answer that question. I am only a persocom, a machine."

"No, you are Yuzuki, and much more than a mere machine," Minoru countered. He then took a deep breath before continuing, "There is something I have to tell you, something I should have told you before now. I've been so blind; I can't believe I missed what was right in front of my face. Almost losing you, it opened my eyes, made me realize what I had been overlooking."

Yuzuki looked at Minoru with a puzzled frown, "I don't understand, what did you miss?"

Minoru smiled gently, "Don't you know? I've seen the way you look at me, the way you have acted. I didn't understand, didn't want to understand. Despite everything, I still confused my feelings for you with the feelings for my sister. But I finally sorted it out. I love you, Yuzuki. Not as a brother loves his sister, or as a master cares for his servant. I think Chi put it best; you are the person only for me. I love you, heart and soul."

Yuzuki's eyes widened, "Master Minoru," she gasped out, "But, I thought... I mean it isn't proper...we can't..." She spluttered to a stop.

"I don't care what is proper and what is not, what we can and cannot do. I love you. I have loved you for some time, I have just been so self absorbed, so blind, so confused, that I was not willing to admit what was in my heart."

Yuzuki stared at Minoru for a moment and then broke out in a shy smile, reaching a hand out towards him. Minoru took her hand in his and smiled tenderly back. "Minoru," she said softly, for the first time leaving off the word 'master'.

After a few moments Minoru collected himself and turned to Ms. Hibiya. "Um, I have a favor to ask. Well, two favors really. Since it seems that walking back and forth between home and here is unsafe, do you have an apartment I could rent? Only for a month or two, once summer is over I'll have to return home to attend school."

Ms. Hibiya thought for a moment before replying, "Mr. Shinbo's apartment is still vacant. I can give you the key and I believe I have a spare futon you can borrow for the time being. What is your other favor?"

Minoru looked away, trying to hide a blush, "Well, do you think Yuzuki could stay with you? It wouldn't be right for us to share a small space like that."

Before Ms. Hibiya could replay Yuzuki spoke up. "That won't be necessary," she said firmly, "I always thought our love would remain an impossible dream. Now that the dream is reality I am not about to let us be separated again just because you are embarrassed. Chi and Hideki shared an apartment, we can do the same. Unless you don't want me sleeping next to you?"

Minoru turned brick red. "No, that is... I mean, well, I..."

Yuzuki waited for Minoru to flounder to a stop and then nodded judiciously and turned to Ms. Hibiya, "It seems we won't need that second favor after all. If you show me where that spare futon is, I think it is high time all of us got some rest."

She swung her feet off the table and began to stand, only to stop so she could keep the sheet that was her only covering from sliding off. She paused, half off the table, "Actually, there is one thing we could use. Would you happen to have a spare kimono?"

Ms. Hibiya laughed gently. "We aren't quite the same size, dear, and you are a little more, um, developed. However, I think I can find something that will work. If you'll follow me."

Yuzuki nodded and, holding the sheet in place with one hand and dragging Minoru, who was looking distinctly shell-shocked, along with the other, followed behind her.


	8. Interlude

Interlude

The man sitting behind the expansive desk in the otherwise spartan office looked old and tired. He had bags under red rimmed eyes and his once elegantly tailored suit was now a rumpled mess. He couldn't remember when he last had a full nights sleep and only vaguely remembered when he had last eaten.

He looked down at the the file on his desk, the source of all his troubles. _I wish I had just dropped this whole mess at the beginning, _he thought ruefully, _But how was I supposed to know that what was supposed to be a simple smash and grab would blow up in my face like this. _It had looked so easy; go in, dump the data, grab the body, and he could finally, after nearly a decade, put the whole Chobits debacle behind him, and maybe think about retirement. Spend some time with his wife and grandchildren before it was too late.

Instead, his best field agent, not to mention the database containing the entire records for the Syndicate, had turned traitor. While that was enough of a disaster on its own, that agent's guardian might prove to be the bigger problem in the end. Jima was merely another persocom, even if he did contain highly sensitive information. Ditta, on the other hand, was something completely different and if the public ever got wind of what she was the government might have no choice but to shut the Syndicate down.

Persocoms designed strictly for combat, to use as soldiers, had been outlawed early on. The public had been scared, and perhaps rightly so, that arming persocoms might one day lead them to try and take over. Therefore, laws had been passed banning the development and manufacture of combat capable persocoms. The Syndicate got around this, to a degree, by taking general purpose persocoms and giving them limited combat programming in hand to hand training and melee weapons, knives mostly. No persocom was programmed to handle any type of gun, and all persocoms had limiters that kept them near human norms in strength and speed. This suited the Syndicate fine, most of what they did relied on stealth instead of brute force anyway.

Ditta was different. She was a combat prototype from the days before the laws changed and was much stronger and faster than any modern persocom. She had been seized in a Syndicate raid on a company dealing in black market persocoms and then dumped in storage. When it came time to turn Jima loose to hunt down the renegade Chobit, it was decided that such a valuable resource needed a suitably strong bodyguard. Ditta was reactivated, loaded up with as much ICE and anti-hacking software as she could hold, and ordered to guard Jima no matter what.

_Which really turned around and bit us in the ass_, the man thought with a touch of grim humor, _She certainly has had no problem tying our agents into knots. Almost literally_. He sighed. It wasn't like anything else was going right either. He had thought that putting a little pressure on the teenage owner of the Chobit, threaten him and his friends, would cause him to fold like tissue paper. Instead he had proven remarkably resilient, not to mention lucky, and nothing so far had seemed to even faze him.

The man paused and considered. There was one other thing that could be done, the final logical step in the operation. He had been hesitant, as much leeway as the Syndicate had to violate the law there were limits and they had already exceeded their charter once, but it looked like he had little choice. It was either this or admit that the whole operation was failure, which would almost certainly lead to his forced resignation.

He sighed again and leafed through the folder, stopping at the latest reports and rereading them, hoping they had changed. No such luck. Something very disturbing was happening out there. Several of his persocom agents had been reported missing, sometimes for hours at a time. They would turn up kilometers away from where they were supposed to be with no memory of the missing time. The last report had a total of five agents going missing at once in the middle of the night and coming to standing around an open grave. The occupant of the grave was missing and the name on the headstone had just about given him a fit when he had first read the report. To think that someone had stolen her body, for what purpose he couldn't guess, frightened him to no end. It reopened a can of worms that he had thought, with no pun intended, long buried.

He closed the report and tapped his fingers on the cover for a moment and then made his decision. The Chobit mess had to be dealt with swiftly so he could turn his attention to the problems it had spawned, especially this latest incident. Even if it was morally repugnant to him, there was only one solution, He nodded and then pressed a button on his desk and spoke into the intercom, "Yuzi, get hold of Fugami. Tell him to go ahead with the operation as planned; he has full discretion and full pardon as long as he achieves his objectives." He released the button and grimaced. Events were in motion, one way or another things would be resolved soon.


	9. Chi Betrayed

A little note, before I get started. This chapter will be darker than anything previous. You have been warned.

Chapter Eight

Chi Betrayed

Hideki trudged towards home. Another day spent searching for a job; another day full of rejection and slammed doors. It had been almost a week since losing his job at Yorokonde, and he figured he had maybe five more days to find some kind of employment. If by the end of next week he still didn't have a job he'd be forced to return to his parents' farm, abandoning his dreams of going to college and any hope of being reunited with Chi…either that or starve. Neither was a very appealing prospect, a choice between emotional or physical suffering.

Lost in his troubled thoughts, Hideki almost walked straight into a police officer coming out of the Gub Jogasaki's front gate. Stepping back quickly, Hideki watched the policeman with trepidation, afraid that he was about to be arrested again. Instead, the police man merely tipped his cap, apologized for nearly running Hideki over, and continued down the street.

Hideki watched him walk down the street for a second, confused and anxious. If the police weren't after him this time, what were they doing here? With a shrug, he decided the best way to find out was to ask Ms. Hibiya. After all, if he wasn't the target this time, it had to be something involving her. With that thought foremost in mind, Hideki continued on towards the apartment complex, fresh worries, for the moment at least, supplanting his old ones.

(***)

Hideki watched Ms. Hibiya pace – no, pace was too calm of a word, stalk was perhaps more appropriate – back and forth in her living room. "What happened? I ran into a cop on my way in. Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Is everything alright? No, everything is very much not alright!" Ms. Hibiya snapped, her voice shaking with an emotion that Hideki had never heard from her before. "Do you know what those bastards did? Do you? After all this time, they finally went and did it. And they promised my husband that they wouldn't, that they would let her lie in peace."

Hideki frowned in confusion. "What? I don't understand. What happened?"

Ms. Hibiya stopped in her tracks and faced Hideki squarely, fists on hips. "That officer came by to inform me that my daughter's grave had been disturbed. Those damn bastards dug up my daughter's grave and stole her body. What do they think they are going to accomplish? Do they really think I'll trade one daughter for another?" She turned away and began pacing again. "I just don't get it. While I never have agreed with their methods, they always seemed to have the greater good in mind. This time, it is like the Director has lost his mind. What are they doing? Why couldn't they let my daughter rest in peace? Both of my daughters?"

Hideki watched her stride back and forth for a second as he tried to make sense of what he had been told. After a moment, everything clicked into place. "The Syndicate _stole_ Freya's body? But why? What are they going to do with it? What are they hoping to gain?"

Ms. Hibiya shook her head, "I don't know. Despicable as they may have been, their actions up to now have made at least _some_ logical sense. There was a clear plan and a clear goal. This? This makes no sense. I can't think of any reason, none, why they want to do this horrible thing. If all they wanted to do was study her, to see how my husband made her, why wait until now?" She stopped again, bowed her head and continued in a softer tone, "When Freya died and my husband became ill, he talked to the Director of the Syndicate, pleaded with him to allow Freya to be buried, to let her rest without being disturbed. The Director agreed, even went so far as assign a guard for a while to make sure no one else disturbed her grave either. And now, now I find out that she is gone, stolen from me. Why? I just don't understand why..." Her words trailed off and she collapsed, falling to the floor in an unmoving heap.

(***)

Hideki leaned against a wall outside of Ms. Hibiya's bedroom with a sigh as he considered what had just happened. He had carefully placed Ms. Hibiya in bed and then went and found Minoru. Minoru, in turn, had called a doctor. The doctor, after examining Ms. Hibiya, had decided that her faint had been brought on by a combination of stress and lack of sleep. Stress? Hideki decided that was one way to put what she had been through. Ms. Hibiya had suffered grievous losses all throughout her life, had been through a lot of bad situations. Still, to Hideki's eyes at least, she always seemed so composed and calm. This latest disaster must have been one bit of bad news too many. Hideki shook his head, still not sure what to make of it: Freya's grave dug up, her body missing, and the Syndicate behind it all. It just didn't make sense; he couldn't see what advantage they hoped to gain.

With another sigh, Hideki straightened up and glanced into the bedroom. Ms. Hibiya was asleep, resting comfortably. Yuzuki sat in a nearby chair, keeping an eye out in case Ms. Hibiya awoke and needed anything. Hideki nodded to Yuzuki and then turned to walk towards the door of the apartment. Now that he knew Ms. Hibiya was going to be okay, it was time he headed home to fix dinner.

(***)

The next day Hideki headed out as usual to look for a job. Also as usual, he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts, his own worries, that he was only vaguely aware of his surroundings. It was no surprise, then, that he didn't even notice the van that came up beside him until its sliding door opened with a loud bang. Hideki jumped, startled, and whirled around to see what was happening. Before he could get half way around, someone reached out from the open door, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him inside. Hideki bounced off the wall opposite the door with bruising force, collapsing to the floor with a groan. As he tried to get to his feet, he heard the door rumble shut. A second later he was tumbled to the floor again when the van accelerated out into traffic.

Still not sure what was going on, but sure he was in a lot of trouble, Hideki doggedly tried to stand up. Going from the bright sunlight outside to the dimness of the inside of the van had left him nearly blind; he had no chance to defend himself when someone slapped him, hard, across the face. Once again, Hideki fell to the floor with a groan. "Enough!" a voice barked, "We want him in one piece."

Hideki lay on the floor, stunned from the force of the blow. As he tried to gather his wits, he realized he recognized that voice, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. He turned his head towards the voice, and began trying to get to his feet again. All of a sudden he felt a stinging sensation in his left arm. He jerked away from the pain, turning to look and saw a hand holding a syringe. "Just something to make you sleep, Mr. Motosuwa. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself struggling pointlessly," the familiar-sounding voice said soothingly.

Hideki shook his head, and began to stand up, knowing that he had to fight, he had to get away. However, as soon as he made it to his feet, the inside of the van seemed to spin. Losing his balance, Hideki tumbled down again. Before he hit the floor, the world went black.

(***)

How long he was unconscious, Hideki wasn't sure. A short time, or a long time, later the blackness began to recede, to be replaced by enough pain to make him wish he hadn't woken up: a small amount of pain in his arm from where he had been jabbed by the needle, and a larger amount of pain in his face where he had been slapped. Worse, however, was the headache that made him feel like his head was going to explode. With a groan, Hideki opened his eyes, but immediately shut them as light stabbed into his head, making him feel as if the top of his head had just exploded.

Somebody laughed mockingly. A voice, the same voice from the van Hideki realized, said, "The sedative we use has several advantages. It works quickly, it is nearly impossible to accidentally overdose on, and when it wears off, it leaves few traces in the body. Unfortunately, it does have one rather large disadvantage, the headache you are now feeling. I understand that drinking a lot of water will speed recovery, flush the toxins."

Hideki waited for a few moments, but the voice neither continued nor offered him any water. Slowly he opened his eyes again. While the light still hurt, Hideki bore the pain and looked around, taking stock of his situation. He was sitting more or less upright, his legs and arms bound to a chair with duct tape; more duct tape was wound around his chest and the back of the chair. While it was possible he could wrench himself loose, it would take time and wouldn't be something he could do subtly. He raised his head, slowly to avoid causing more pain, and looked around. It seemed like he was in a cheap hotel room, and a small one at that. There was a window directly across from him and a door to his right. A small dresser and a bed were against the left wall, and the walls were covered in peeling wallpaper.

There were two other people in the room with him. One sat on a chair at the foot of the bed, the other, much smaller, person lay on the bed, tied to the bed posts with rope. Both people were familiar, and Hideki gasped in shock, jerking upright, ignoring the sudden spike of pain the movement generated. The person in the chair was the 'fake' lawyer from the police station, dressed somewhat incongruously in what appeared to be hospital scrubs. The person on the bed, though, was the real reason for Hideki's surprise. Yumi lay there, unmoving, apparently unconscious, dressed in her work uniform from the bakery.

Again came the mocking laughter, "I see you recognize our other guest." The lawyer smiled like a shark and gestured at Yumi's unmoving form.

Hideki strained at his bonds for a moment, then sagged against the duct tape, nearly blacking out again from the pain in his head. "You bastard! What did you do to her?"

The lawyer shook his head, "I have done nothing to her, yet. She is merely sedated. Since she weighs much less than you do, and since we abducted her after you, she is merely taking longer to awaken."

"Damn you, leave her alone! You do anything to her, I'll, I'll kill you!" Hideki shouted, straining to break free, ignoring the pain in his head.

The lawyer looked at Hideki with amusement for a second, then got to his feet. "You still don't get it, do you? I told you before, you will do nothing, you are nothing." As he talked, he walked over to Hideki, and then looked down at him with a frown and shrugged. Without warning, he slapped Hideki across the face once, and then again, this time hard enough to toss Hideki and the chair to the floor.

Blood began dripping from Hideki's mouth and nose, and the world began to go black again. He felt the lawyer roughly yank the chair back upright and he struggled to stay conscious, afraid of what would happen to him, or, worse, Yumi, if he gave in to the pain. "Why are you doing this, what do you want from us?" Hideki managed to gasp out after a moment.

The lawyer walked back over to the other chair but didn't sit down. "Mr. Motosuwa, I know you aren't that stupid. But, if you need me to spell it out," he shrugged. He walked over to the dresser and picked up something from a little black case sitting there. Hideki felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he recognized the gleaming blade of a scalpel. The lawyer walked over to the bed and looked down at Yumi then back at Hideki, "I know this is a bit of a cliché, but you will give me exactly what I want. If you decide to be stubborn, you can instead listen while this girl dies, slowly. I know it is a big decision, so I will give you some time to think. Say, ten minutes? I've got to get her clothes off, anyway, they'd just be in the way. After that, I'm afraid I won't be able to hear you over the screaming." With that, he bent over and began to cut at the sleeve of Yumi's uniform.

Hideki watched the lawyer work for a moment in sick fascination, then turned his face away. He couldn't, didn't, want to believe what was happening, what was about to happen. What was he going to do? He couldn't betray Chi to these monsters. But could he sit here, listen and watch as Yumi suffered and died? No, he decided. He took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles, and then pulled as hard as he could, trying to wrench his arms free of the duct tape that bound him. After a minute he sagged against his bonds, exhausted and bruised. The tape hadn't given as much as an inch. Still, he mustn't give up. He prepared to make another effort, surely if he just kept trying he could break free.

A loud scream echoed throughout the room. The lawyer stepped back from the bed in surprise for a moment, then loomed over Yumi again. "Ah, you are awake. Good, I was beginning to wonder. It wouldn't do to have you sleep through your big moment."

Yumi screamed again in panic and fear. "Who are you? Where am I? What is going on?" she asked in a frightened voice.

The lawyer smiled broadly. "You can call me Fugami. You are currently in an abandoned hotel. And, as for what is going on, well let's just say you are here to, ah, persuade Motosuwa as to the futility of resisting my employer's demands." He held up the scalpel and his smile got wider.

Yumi screamed again, louder this time. "Motosuwa-Senpai? Help me!"

Fugami just shook his head. "I'm afraid he can't help you. He's, excuse the pun, tied up at the moment." He gestured vaguely at Hideki, who was still trying to get loose. He then brought the scalpel back down to Yumi's arm, where he had almost cut the sleeve off of her uniform.

Yumi screamed once again and tried to jerk away from the scalpel. "No! Don't! Please!" she whined.

"Hold still, girl! I'm not going to hurt you, just yet. I'm just going to remove your clothes, that's all," Fugami said sternly. When he saw the look in Yumi's eyes he smiled broadly again. "Oh, are you afraid that I'm going to do something, ah, obscene to you?" He paused for a second, as if he was thinking. "Well, I guess I am going to do several things to you that could be considered obscene, but don't worry, I'm not going to do, ah, _that. _I am a professional, after all. It isn't like I take pleasure in torturing young, pretty girls like you." He paused again, and said quietly, almost to himself, "Not a lot of pleasure, at least."

Once again Fugami brought the scalpel down towards Yumi, and once again she cried out and tried to flinch away. Without pausing, Fugami swung his other hand and slapped her across the face, once, twice, three times. Yumi's cries cut off abruptly and she began to sob quietly. He nodded, "Now, be still! I am going to cut that dress off of you, and if you flinch you will get cut as well."

"You bastard!" Hideki yelled and, with a last adrenalin-filled surge, ripped his right arm free of the duct tape with a loud tearing sound.

Fugami spun around in surprise, and when he saw Hideki trying to free his other arm he snarled angrily. "Boy, you just don't get it. You aren't in control here, I am!" He strode over to Hideki and kicked him, hard, in the left shoulder, tipping the chair over again. Hideki landed roughly on his right side; his right arm, though free from the duct tape, was now pinned under him. Fugami cocked his head to the side and grinned in satisfaction. He then turned, walked over to the dresser and pulled a pair of hand cuffs from the black case sitting there. Turning and walking back once again, he set Hideki's chair upright. "Now, you have two choices. Either you give me your right arm, and I handcuff it to the chair, or I break it in two places and then handcuff it to the chair."

Hideki looked up at Fugami and shivered in fear. It wasn't what he had said, instead it was the way he had said it; not threatening or melodramatic, but composed and calm, almost bored, as if he was discussing the weather. Hideki let himself go limp and allowed his right arm to be handcuffed to the chair.

Fugami smiled and nodded. "See, that wasn't so hard," he said pleasantly, "It is unfortunate that I only have one set of cuffs, we could have dispensed with the duct tape from the start. Now, have you reached a decision?" When Hideki didn't answer Fugami shrugged, "Well, you have some time yet. Just remember, not reaching a decision is the same as deciding not to cooperate." With that he turned his back on Hideki and walked back over to the bed.

Hideki slumped against the duct tape wrapped around his chest; a feeling of defeat mixed with his various aches and pains caused him to want to do nothing more than break down and cry. He had no hope left, he saw no way out. He would be forced to watch this monster kill Yumi right in front of him, and he could do nothing about it. _Nothing? _a quiet voice in his mind spoke up, _You could give him what he wants._ Hideki shook his head, no, that was one thing he couldn't, wouldn't, do. _Why not?_ the voice said, _Didn't Minoru tell you that Chi cannot be repaired? Would you have Yumi suffer and die for nothing? Would you put Mr. Ueda through the agony of losing the one he loves, again, just because you are too stubborn to let Chi go? Chi is already as good as dead, would you force others to share her fate?_

Hideki hung his head for a moment, his thoughts a chaotic whirl. With a jerk, he straightened. He had reached a decision, one that he knew would damn his soul and haunt his nights for a lifetime. But, in the end, what choice did he have? He had no right, none, to ask his friends to sacrifice themselves for no reason. "Stop!" he said, his voice cracking and wavering with emotion.

Fugami turned around and looked at Hideki, a quizzical expression on his face. "Yes? Reached a decision, have we?"

"Let Yumi go. I'll..." Hideki paused, unable to continue, unable to force the words out of his mouth. After a second he continued in a broken whisper, "I'll give you what you want."


	10. Dark Chi

Chapter Nine

Dark Chi

"Let Yumi go. I'll..." Hideki said in a broken whisper, "I'll give you what you want."

Fugami stared at Hideki with a curious expression on his face, a look of disappointment, like a kid deprived of his favorite toy. Hideki shivered and wondered which was stronger, Fugami's loyalty to the Syndicate, or his desire to continue hurting Yumi. After a moment, Fugami's face went blank and then he smiled a broad, plastic smile. "Good, I'm glad we could come to an agreement," he said with false warmth.

Fugami walked over to the black case on the dresser and fished around for a few seconds before pulling out a small key. Whistling to himself, he began to turn back towards Hideki. He froze mid-movement, the whistling stopping in mid-note, and he turned his head sharply and stared out the window. His gaze fixed on something outside, he walked slowly towards the window, muttering almost inaudible curses.

At first Hideki could not understand what Fugami was staring at so intently. Then he saw it too: a bright light hovering well off the ground, a light that was growing larger and larger. With no warning the light flashed incredibly, searingly, bright, like a bolt of lightning. Hideki turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut, wishing his hands were free so he could put them over his face. Simultaneously there came the sound of breaking glass, a bellow of pain and anger from Fugami, and a scream of fright from Yumi.

With spots swimming in front of his eyes, Hideki began blinking rapidly, trying to clear his vision so he could see what had happened. Slowly the room came back into focus and Hideki could only stare in astonishment and what he was seeing. Standing – no, not standing, _floating – _just inside the window was a persocom, her long blond hair and flowing black dress billowing in the breeze from the broken window. Hideki recognized her immediately, but wasn't sure if he could trust his eyes. For the second time he wished his hands were free, this time so he could rub his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. "Chi?" he called out softly, hesitantly.

The persocom turned to Hideki and shook her head. With a voice that was – and yet was not – Chi's voice she said, "I'm sorry Mr. Motosuwa, I am not Chi."

Hiudeki felt a hammer blow of emotion flow through him. Not Chi? But she looked exactly like her, sounded like her. If she wasn't Chi, who was she? Suddenly, and with an almost physical jolt, Hideki finally put the pieces together. The voice wasn't Chi's, not quite, but he had heard it before, on the rooftop of the Gub Jogasaki last fall. He had even seen that dress before, in a picture of Chi... and her sister. "Freya!" Hideki called out, "But how? You're... dead?"

Freya floated down gently and landed on the carpet, with the sound of broken glass crunching under her feet. "That is a somewhat long story, Mr. Motosuwa, and one we do not have time for at the moment."

"No, you do not." a voice interrupted. Fugami climbed to his feet, brushing shattered glass from his clothing. He touched his face and looked at the blood on his fingers; he had gotten several nasty cuts when the window had broken. Fugami continued calmly, "You made a mistake. I am not one of your father's clockwork automatons that you can turn off and on at will." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a flat, black, plastic rectangle with two metal tips at one end. He squeezed a button on the side and electricity arced between the two metal tips. His face contorted in an ugly smile as he continued, "This little device is quite useful. I was going to use it on the girl, but I've found that it works just as good on persocoms as it does on people. I imagine the Syndicate will be quite pleased when I bring them the bodies of both Chobits." With no further warning he stabbed the device at Freya.

Once again there was an explosion of white light. Hideki flinched away from the painful brilliance, screwing his eyes shut. It took a few seconds that felt like an eternity, but eventually Hideki's eyes cleared and he looked back towards the window. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he saw Freya stretched out, unmoving, on the floor. However, right beside her, and just as unmoving, was Fugami, the taser, now burnt and melted, on the floor next to him.

Not knowing who would recover first, Hideki began trying to free his left arm, still duct taped to the chair. After a moment of violent struggle, the tape gave way with a loud ripping noise. Hideki sagged back in the chair, completely out of breath and feeling bruised all over. After resting a moment, he bent his head to study the duct tape still wrapped around his chest. Before he could begin to peel himself loose, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He straightened, a feeling of dread in his stomach. If Fugami got up first, the Syndicate would have won. Almost immediately the dread was replaced with a feeling of relief; it was Freya stirring, not Fugami.

Freya pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, and from there stood up slowly. She looked over at Hideki and gave him a triumphant smile. She then bent over Fugami and placed a hand on his neck. After a moment she straightened with a frown on her face.

"Is he...is he dead?" Hideki asked.

Freya shook her head, "No, unconscious. He'll probably wake up with quite the headache, though." She looked around for a moment and then scooped something off the floor, the scalpel that Fugami had been holding. She then walked over to Hideki and looked over the restraints that bound him to the chair. "Do you know where the key to these hand cuffs is?" she asked.

Hideki shook his head. "Fugami had it shortly before you showed up, but I don't know where it is now."

Freya looked over at the window and the debris scattered under it. She shrugged, "No time to look for it. Relax your right arm, otherwise this might hurt." She grabbed the manacle around Hideki's right wrist and pulled the chain between it and the other manacle tight. Then, with a quick jerk, she snapped the chain. Hideki's right arm was now free of the chair, although one manacle was still attached to his wrist. "Can you free yourself from the duct tape?" she asked. When Hideki nodded yes, she turned away and walked over to the black case on the dresser.

Hideki stared after her for a moment, and then down at the hand cuff manacle on his wrist. Freya had snapped the chain so easily, almost casually. He knew that persocoms were stronger than they looked, but he was still caught off guard. He shook his head, despite having many questions about the whole situation, this simply was not the time to speculate about any of them. He bent over and began tearing the duct tape off of his chest.

Freya rooted around inside the black case for a second, looking for something to secure Fugami with. She hadn't told Hideki this, but defending herself from the taser had put a critical drain on her energy reserves. If Fugami woke up before she could bind him, it was unlikely if she could defeat him again. Dismissing her worries, she turned over the items in the case. Most of them were surgical instruments of one kind or another, but at the bottom there was a roll of duct tape. Under that were several long plastic ties. She plucked them free and stalked over to Fugami and knelt beside him. In a matter of seconds she had bound his wrists behind him with one of the plastic ties. Another tie secured his ankles. She then bent his wrists down and his ankles up and duct taped them together. She stood and contemplated her handiwork. After a moment she nodded, satisfied that Fugami would not be able to free himself easily, if he could do so at all. The fact that the position he was in would be extremely uncomfortable was, in her opinion, merely a bonus.

Freya turned her back on Fugami, dismissing him from her mind and, instead, turning her thoughts to her next challenge. She walked up to the bed and looked down at Yumi, studying the ropes that bound her. Yumi had her eyes squeezed shut and she was shivering and crying uncontrollably. "Ms. Oomura," Freya said gently, "You are safe now. Fugami can't hurt you."

Yumi relaxed a little bit and opened one eye. When she saw Freya above her she relaxed even further and opened the other eye. "Chi?" she began, "No, wait, you're not Chi, are you? But then who...?"

Freya shook her head, "Indeed, I am not Chi. I am Freya, her sister."

"Chi's sister? I thought Ms. Hibiya said that you had died," Yumi said confusedly.

"Yes, I did," Freya began. "However, now isn't the time to explain. Let me free you first." She pulled gently at the rope binding Yumi's left arm. As she had expected, the rope had too much give to be snapped as easily as she had snapped the chain on Hideki's handcuffs. Instead, she took the scalpel she had picked up off the floor and pressed down where the rope wound around the bed post. A quick slash and the rope parted, freeing Yumi's left arm. Three more quick cuts to the other ropes and Yumi was loose.

Yumi sat up slowly, hissing in pain as blood began to flow to her hands and feet again after being constricted by the ropes for so long. After a few seconds, and with Freya's help, she stood; she wobbled for a moment, then regained her balance. Freya looked at her critically and then bent and tore a piece off the bed sheet. When Yumi gave her a puzzled look, Freya pointed at Yumi's uniform. Fugami had succeeded in cutting through one of the sleeves, causing the uniform to sag and expose quite a bit more of Yumi's chest than could be considered decent. Freya bent over and used the strip of bed sheet to roughly tie the sleeve back into place. While not a perfect solution, it did the job well enough to preserve Yumi's modesty.

Yumi smiled her thanks, then took a look around the room. Her eyes alighted on Fugami and her face set in a hard, angry expression. She marched over to him, planted one foot and kicked hard with the other, catching him under the ribs and causing him to roll over onto his side with a groan. Nodding with satisfaction, she turned away and stalked over to the chair where Hideki was till busy trying to free himself.

Working together, Yumi and Hideki finally managed to peel the last of the duct tape from his chest and legs. Hideki sat in the chair for moment, trying to gather his energy. He was exhausted, he still had a wicked headache, and every square inch of his body hurt. He looked at Yumi for a moment, then hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this," he started to say.

Yumi shook her head firmly, "Senpai, don't blame yourself. You didn't get me involved, that horrid man did. Now, you should stand up if you can. I don't think this is a good place to linger."

Freya spoke up, "No, it is not. The Syndicate is aware of my presence here. They will send more agents and none of us is in any shape to fight."

Hideki nodded. With a sigh, he placed his hands on the arm rests of the chair and tried to lever himself to a standing position. He made it half way up when his legs collapsed underneath him. Before he could hit the ground Freya and Yumi caught him. With an arm around each of their shoulders Hideki somehow kept his feet and began to slowly shuffle towards the door.

By the time they made it down to the ground floor and out through the lobby, Hideki was walking on his own, albeit somewhat shakily. He shaded his eyes against the sun and looked around trying to figure out where he was.

Freya watched him for a moment then pointed to the left, "The apartment complex is in that direction. Keep walking up the street, I've already contacted Dita to guide you home. I'll make sure Yumi gets back to her father safely and then join you afterward."

Hideki looked at Freya for a moment. "Shouldn't Dita and I go with you, just in case?"

Freya shook her head, "I don't think it would be a good idea. Ms. Oomura has been kidnapped and assaulted. Even though she doesn't blame you, her father might not be as reasonable."

Hideki thought for a moment and nodded agreement. While he didn't think Mr. Oomura would hold a grudge over the long term, his immediate reaction was likely to be explosive.

Mind made up, he wished Freya and Yumi goodbye and turned towards home. He had hardly taken a step when he heard running footsteps. Hideki spun around, not sure what to expect. Yumi finished running up to him and hugged him tightly, then stepped back. "Take care of yourself senpai!" She then turned away, rejoined Freya, and began walking away.

(***)

Hideki leaned against the inside of the wall that surrounded the Gub Jogasaki. Dita had set a punishing pace on the way back to the apartment complex, one that had nearly caused him to collapse from exhaustion. Now that they were home, Dita had returned to the roof and Hideki was taking a much needed breather before heading inside, trying to put his thoughts in order and catch his breath.

After a few minutes Hideki decided it was time to head inside. He still had no idea how he was going to explain this mess to Ms. Hibiya and Minoru, but there was no point in delaying any longer. As he straightened up he heard a soft noise above him. He whirled around and crouched down. Was it the Syndicate making a retaliatory strike? But shouldn't Dita have reacted if it was?

A quiet giggle came from the top of the wall. Freya waved down at Hideki and leaped lightly to the ground. "My apologies Mr. Motosuwa. I didn't mean to startle you."

Hideki came out of his crouch and shrugged, "Not your fault. I guess I am still wound up after everything that has happened." He frowned before continuing, "I feel so helpless. I've had to rely on everyone else. I've been unable to do anything to keep my friends from being hurt." Hideki took a deep breath before continuing, "In the end, I even betrayed Chi. I was willing to give her to the Syndicate to stop the pain, to stop Fugami from hurting Yumi. I should have been able to do something, anything, and instead I ended up cowering like a beaten dog."

Freya shook her head, "Do not blame yourself. You found yourself in an impossible situation, and you made the only choice you could, the only choice the Syndicate allowed you to make. Chi is gone, Mr. Motosuwa. Sacrificing Ms. Oomura's life in exchange for nothing but a memory would not have been brave, it would have been foolish."

Hideki shrugged and touched his head, "I know that here," he moved his hand and touched his chest over his heart, "But it still feel like an act of cowardice here."

Freya nodded, "I understand. If it helps, my sister would have gladly sacrificed her life to save another." She paused for a moment before continuing, "After all she has already done so once." She sighed, "No, if anyone has failed her, it is me. Do you know that on the night of the accident, she called out to me to save her? When that car came hurtling towards her, she reached out to me for help. I was too slow, too late. My sister needed me, and I couldn't help her."

Hideki stared at Freya then reached out and gathered her in his arms and hugged her. Freya stiffened momentarily, then relaxed. After a few seconds Hideki let her go and stepped back, wiping a tear from his eye. "Well, we'll both just have to do better from here on out, won't we?"

Freya nodded, "Yes. Thank you Mr. Motosuwa."

Hideki shook his head, "Call me Hideki, please. We're family, aren't we?"

"Alright then, thank you Hideki," Freya said with a smile. She stared at the apartment complex for a moment, her face becoming more somber. "Speaking of family, I hope I haven't upset Mother too badly. I wanted to talk to her, to explain before she learned that my grave was empty. Events just moved too rapidly."

Hideki looked at Freya, struck anew by her resemblance to her sister, his beloved. He shook himself, trying to rid himself of the feeling that he was talking with a ghost. "Freya, Ms. Hibiya is your mother. She'll understand. She'll be glad to have you home again."

Softly, almost too softly to hear, Freya murmured, "That is what I'm afraid of."

Before Hideki could ask for clarification, he heard the front door of the apartment complex open. Ms. Hibiya stood in the doorway, a stunned, unbelieving expression on her face. After a moment, that expression changed to one of sheer joy. She slowly began walking towards Freya, then faster, and faster still. By the time she reached her daughter, she was running. Crying tears of happiness, Ms, Hibiya hugged Freya to her tightly.


	11. Chi Triumphant

Author Note: Sorry about the delay, but here it is, finally, the end of my story, minus an epilogue I'm still working on. As I'm short a beta atm, this is presented as is and is probably a bit rough. I hope you enjoy it, anyway.

Chapter Ten

Chi Triumphant

Freya unhooked herself from the recharger and then leaned back against the wall with a satisfied sigh. She closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them and looked at the people and persocoms gathered around the table in Ms. Hibiya's apartment. Hideki, Minoru, and Yuzuki sat at one side of the table, Jima, Dita and Ms. Hibiya at the other. Sitting on the table were the two smaller persocoms, Kotoko sitting perfectly still as usual and Sumomo dancing around, also as usual.

Freya said softly, "Thank you for being patient. It has been a long and wearying day, and I'm afraid my batteries were almost drained. I know my reappearance was a shock to all of you, and I apologize for that. It was never my intention to keep it a secret, events just moved much faster than I anticipated.

"Three years ago, my sister gave her life to save mine. She copied my personality data, my memories, out of my failing body into her own. Due to a flaw, a situation my father never anticipated, a persocom cannot have two sets of personalities in one body, the newer one always overwrites the old.

Elda knew this and sacrificed herself anyway, to preserve me from death. It was a debt that I could not, cannot, repay. So, I promised to watch over her as she was reborn anew, until she found her special someone. A year ago, she found that someone." Freya nodded at Hideki, who blushed, "I slept, thinking that my sister was safe. I was wrong. A month ago, my sister called out to me in dire need. I awoke too slowly, too late, she was struck down and darkness claimed us both.

"I woke once again when Chi did, inside the virtual body housed in the computers below this apartment complex. I knew that time was short, that our data would overwhelm and overload the computers in short order unless we were put in storage. I also knew the terrible danger Chi was in, separated from her body and vulnerable. I did the only thing I could think to do, dangerous as it was.

"All persocoms are connected, a shared network that forms the backbone of the Internet, among other things. The computers below are also tied into this network. At first I thought I could use that network to copy myself onto another persocom somewhere. However, I quickly realized that idea was unworkable. That persocom would lose their memories for the same reason Elda lost her memories, I would kill that persocom. And even if I was willing to do that, which I wasn't, it still wouldn't work. My sister and I, to this day, are the most complex persocoms on the planet. Attempting to place our data in any other persocom would just end up with that persocom overloading and crashing.

"Instead, I decided to distribute my data across several persocoms, thus avoiding damaging any of them and allowing me to temporarily displace any one of them so I could keep an eye on the Syndicate and protect everyone here from them, in theory, at least. I knew I risked scattering my data so widely that it would be effectively lost, drowned in the sea of information that flows from persocom to persocom, but I was willing to take that risk. I loved my sister more than life itself, and I wanted to protect her while she slept like she protected me when I needed it. So, before mother had a chance to put Chi's data in storage, and with it mine, I separated myself from her and leaped into the collective unconscious that all persocoms share. I thought I was prepared; I wasn't. The tides of data shredded my personality and for a time I lost my sense of self. I never let go of my purpose, though, even when I no longer knew who I was. I kept trying to find persocoms who were near this apartment complex so I could watch over Chi and her beloved."

Hideki stared at Freya, "It was you! That day I walked to work and that strange persocom kept staring at me. That was you, wasn't it?"

Freya nodded, "Yes, or at least a part of me. Unfortunately, it took a long time to gather myself, to remember who I was. The Syndicate did not wait, and by the time I had myself under control they had already struck out at you and those closest to you. I had failed my sister yet again.

"Finally fully cognizant again, I began studying the Syndicate closely, taking over their agents temporarily in an attempt to understand what they were planning next, and to learn more about their inner working and policies.

"I had a problem, though. I was never designed to spread myself across several persocoms. My programming was adaptable, but this was too much. I began to unravel again, began to lose my sense of self. I knew that there was no second chance, if I didn't do something quickly I would be lost for good this time. I knew I had to gather my data in one persocom again, and there was only one viable candidate, my old body. After being buried for three years I had no idea if it could be made to function, but I had no other choice.

"I borrowed several of the Syndicate's agents, putting them into a state that resembled sleep walking and had them dig up my grave in the middle of the night. Somewhat surprisingly, my body was still in good shape. There was one little problem, after three years of inactivity my batteries were completely drained. Unable to hook myself up to a charger for fear of discovery, there was only one other option. I had my body placed on the roof of an abandoned building where it would get plenty of sunshine and then I waited. A day later I borrowed another agent and had him check on my body, reboot it, and run a complete diagnostic. Several of my systems had failed, as well as half of my batteries, but I was capable of working around the damage, enough to restore myself to nearly full functionality, although I knew I would have to be careful of energy expenditures."

Freya looked over at Hideki, "Which, by the way, is why I collapsed while fighting Fugami. My father built many defenses into my sister and I, including the ability to discharge part of our battery power in an effect that mimics a stun gun. When Fugami struck at me, I grabbed his arm and shocked him. Unfortunately, the effort temporarily overloaded my batteries, causing me to reboot."

She turned back to the others as she continued her story, "With my body working again, mostly at least, I gathered my data and moved it back to where it belonged. For the first time in three years, I was back in my own body. I was weak and damaged, but I was myself again. I immediately started to head towards the apartment complex. I knew by now that mother would have heard about my grave being empty and I wanted to reassure her. Before I got there I saw Hideki walking down the street. As I turned towards him, however, a white van pulled up beside him and he was yanked inside. Before I could react, the van sped off into traffic and I lost it.

"I thought I had failed my sister again, that I had let her beloved be kidnapped while I stood by helplessly. I had one last hope, though. In my investigations into the Syndicate, I had uncovered a list of safe houses. I compared that list to my current location and picked out the nearest ones. As it turned out, I found the van in the second one I visited. The rest of the story you know."

Freya leaned against the wall and closed her eyes again. Quiet reigned for a minute as everyone stared at her in rapt fascination, even Sumomo had stopped twirling in place and was watching wide eyed. Finally, Ms. Hibiya got up and walked over to her daughter, sat down next to her, and hugged her. "You didn't fail your sister, ever. You went above and beyond what anybody could have expected."

Hideki nodded, "Yeah, if it wasn't for you, if you hadn't arrived when you did..." He shrugged uncomfortably, "I'm the one who failed. I'm the one that gave up."

Freya opened her eyes and smiled at Hideki, "I believe we had this conversation once. You did the right thing, the only thing you could have done." She looked around at everyone, "This has gone on long enough. If something isn't done soon, the Syndicate will hurt and kill more people just to get at my sister and I and I cannot allow that."

Minoru looked at Freya curiously, "What are you going to do?"

Freya smiled cryptically, "I am going to give them what they want."

(***)

Freya hooked another of her cables into the monitor and then sat back and nodded. "I think that did it. I'm ready."

Ms. Hibiya looked at her, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Freya shrugged, "There is only one other choice. Dita and I could fight back, try to bring down the Syndicate in any way possible. Many people and persocoms would get hurt or killed, maybe even you and Mr. Motosuwa. And even if we succeeded, what would we accomplish? Even though their methods are sometimes less than ethical, the Syndicate does much more good than harm. They protect persocoms from those that would exploit them."

Ms. Hibiya frowned for a moment then nodded. "I know. I just worry about you. It is a mother's right, after all."

Freya laughed, "I know. Now wish me luck." She looked at the monitor and concentrated for a moment. The monitor turned itself on, displaying a camera feed of a tired looking old man sitting at a expansive desk.

The old man looked at the camera in surprise. "Who are you? How did you get this number? How did you get past security?" he barked. His eyes widened as he recognized Freya, "You! Get off my phone this instant!" He stabbed a finger down at a something off screen, the hang up button presumably. He frowned and then jabbed his finger down again. He sighed and looked back up at Freya, "I see. Well, since I can't get rid of you, what do you want? Make it quick, I'm busy."

Freya smiled brightly, "Director! You look tired. Not sleeping well?"

The Director snorted, "No thanks to a certain persocom who doesn't have the decency to stay dead. Skip the pleasantries and get to the point."

Freya sobered, "If that is the way you want it, fine. I want you to leave me, my family, and my friends alone."

The Director shook his head, "I'm sorry, we don't negotiate with terrorists and criminals. If you turn yourself and your sister in, however, there will be no need for us to keep bothering your family and friends."

Freya's face hardened, "I am neither a criminal nor a terrorist. And I will never turn my sister over to you."

The Director shrugged, "Then we have nothing to talk about. Good day." He stabbed down at the hang up button again. When nothing happened he frowned at Freya, "Damn it, give me my phone back!"

Freya shrugged, "Not before I've said what I have to say. This has to stop, Director. Eventually, you will either destroy me or I will be forced to destroy the Syndicate. Believe it or not, I don't want to do that. What do you want, what will it take, to bring this senseless conflict to an end?"

"I told you once, and my answer hasn't changed. Bring yourself and your sister, her data and remains, to us."

Freya shook her head, "Unacceptable. Tell me, why do you want us so badly, what about us scares you so?"

The Director snorted again, "Like you don't know. You can ignore the security of any persocom you want, steal information, hack their programming. Your sister could even shut down persocoms over a several block radius, somehow. And those are only the tricks we know about. Your creator was very secretive about your designs, so who knows what else you are capable of."

Freya nodded, "Maybe we can compromise? If you knew what we could do, could you not devise a way to defend against it? And if I and my sister could no longer intrude on other persocoms without their consent, would we still be a threat?"

The Director looked curiously at Freya, "What are you proposing? I am listening,"

"Simply this, I am willing to give you the complete technical specification of my sister and myself, blueprints, research data, everything. I am also willing to have your technicians observe my mother removing my ability to hack into other persocoms. I believe that would remove us as threats, yes?"

The Director gaped at Freya in astonishment. After a moment he got himself under control. "That would work, I think. But why would you agree to this now? Do you know how long I badgered Doctor Ichiro to do this very thing? Do you know how often he turned me down flatly?"

Freya shrugged, "My father could be somewhat stubborn. He never trusted the Syndicate, and he never liked being pushed into doing something he didn't want to do. I, however, just want this mess settled. I am willing to do anything except to turn myself and my sister over to you to accomplish this. I do have two requests though."

"Name them," the Director said suspiciously.

"First, I ask that after your technicians study our data that you don't use that information to build more Chobits."

The Director laughed incredulously, "_More_ Chobits? Dear lady, I think two Chobits is two too many in the first place. Why would you think I would want to build more?"

Freya nodded, "That may be, but you will retire at some point. Can you be certain that your replacement will be of the same mind regarding this? The Chobits project was a failure, Director, and no more of us should be built."

"A failure? From where I'm sitting it looks like it succeeded just fine."

Freya shook her head. "No, it was flawed. I suffered a programming conflict that caused me to break down. My sister lost her memory and then nearly had the same programming error destroy her as well. I cannot in good conscience have more persocoms suffer as we have."

The Director looked thoughtful for a second, then nodded. "I see your point. After I am satisfied that there are no hidden surprises in your schematics, I'll see that they are destroyed. What is your other demand?"

"Undo the damage that you have done to my friends," Freya said simply.

The Director nodded, "That I have no problem with. I'll take care of it directly, though it may take a few days or even weeks to straighten it all out. Now, I'll send over two of my best technicians to observe the procedures on you and to collect the data you promised. If everything checks out, this will be the last time you'll see any of us." He added under his breath, "And won't I be very glad of that." He continued in his normal tone, "One other thing, those rogues, Jima and Dita? Can you ask them to return to the Syndicate please? I promise that they won't be harmed, but we can't have them running around loose."

Freya nodded, "I can ask. Jima shouldn't have a problem now that Chi is safe, and Dita goes where he goes."

"Good. Then I think our business is concluded. Now, give me back my phone!" the Director bellowed.

Freya nodded and the monitor went blank.

(***)

A day passed and the Syndicate technicians came and went, taking Jima and Dita with them. A few more days passed, then a week. Life at the Gub Jogasaki returned to something approaching normal. Hideki spent his days looking for a job,Minoru and Yuzuki spent most of their time in the underground room pouring over the computers, Freya and Ms. Hibiya spent their days together, rediscovering what it was like being a mother and daughter again, and Sumomo and Kotoko spent most of their time either with Hideki or with Ms. Hibiya.

Finally, Freya decided that the Syndicate had, indeed, kept their end of the bargain and it was time to talk to her mother, a conversation that she had been dreading. "Mother, it is time," she said gently.

Ms. Hibiya looked at Freya curiously, "Time for what, dear?"

Freya smiled sadly, "I came back to protect my sister. Now that the Syndicate won't disturb her again it is time for me to... go."

Ms. Hibiya's face fell, "No. I had hoped we could be a family, that you had come back for good."

Freya shook her head slowly, "You know that isn't possible. The pain I felt when I found out that the one I loved could never return my love has never left me. Now he has gone someplace I cannot follow and the pain is nearly unbearable. I endured it for my sister's sake, but she is safe now. Please, mother, don't ask me to stay."

Ms. Hibiya looked at Freya, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Is this truly what you wish? I would never ask you to suffer just to make me happy. But I wanted, I wanted... oh Freya."

Freya said quietly, "I understand. If I could remain I would. But my heart is torn in two and it hurts, every day it hurts. It never has healed, and cannot. The Chobits project's biggest triumph, and its biggest failure. However, there is one thing you could do for me, if you would?"

"Name it, my daughter, and if I can do it, I will."

"When I am gone, do not bury my body again. My hardware is compatible with Chi's data. Use it to reunite her with Hideki. I know the pain of being separated from the one you love. If I can spare those two that pain, it will bring me comfort, and maybe, in some small way, repay the debt I owe Elda for her sacrifice."

Ms. Hibiya nodded slowly, "Freya, know that I love you, and I'll always love you." She hugged Freya tightly, tears pouring down her face. After a moment that seemed to last for an eternity she let her go and stepped back. "Chobits," she said, voice choked with emotion.

"Entered. Password and voice recognition are confirmed," Freya said, her voice flat, her face blank, "Standing by master, please give me your instructions."

"Delete all data, terminate all systems."

"Confirmed. Proceed with deletion of all data and termination of all systems?"

Ms. Hibiya paused for a moment, then continued, "Initiate."

There was a whirring sound for a moment, data lines streaming across Freya's eyes, then she said simply, in the same flat voice, "Procedure completed."

Ms. Hibiya sank to the floor, crying freely. Freya, her daughter, was lost to her forever.


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Chi Awakens**

Ms. Hibiya looked up at the diagnostic results displayed on the panel above her and sighed. "She is a mess. There are dozens of problems spread across every part of her body. We'll have to completely disassemble her to fix them and to double check that there are no other faults or potential failures the scan didn't pick up."

Minoru shrugged, "It could be worse. If I'm reading these results correctly, it does appear that none of the components that we could not replace, or even repair easily, are affected. That means that everything is repairable; it will just take a little time and a lot of hard work. Compared to the hopeless situation we were in last week, this is good news. I would much rather have a problem I can fix than one I cannot."

Ms. Hibiya paused for a moment and smiled slightly. "You are right, of course. I was just hoping to have her waiting for Hideki when he got back."

"We still might, if we work hard. Where do you think we should we start, Ms. Hibiya?"

Ms. Hibiya's slight smile turned into gentle laughter, "Well, you can start by calling me Chitose. We're going to be working together pretty closely for a while and there is no need to be so formal all the time."

(***)

Hideki leaned back in his seat and watched the scenery move past his window. _What a difference a week makes_, he thought. _A few days ago this train trip to Hokkaido, back to my parents' farm, would have been one of defeat and misery; instead it is one of triumph and joy. _Hideki shook his head as he contemplated how his life had completely turned around in such a short time. Less than a week ago he had no job, no money, and no real hope for his future. He had expected to have to go back to his parents' farm to live for an indefinite time, perhaps never to return to Tokyo, giving up his hopes to see Chi again and his dream of going to college.

Ironically, it was a fresh tragedy that had started the chain of events. Ms. Hibiya had told him of what had happened to Freya, and of Freya's last request. Hideki had been conflicted at first, unsure if he wanted Chi back at such a cost. Ms. Hibiya had simply shaken her head and explained that the decision was not his to make, it had been Freya's, and Ms. Hibiya would honor it. In the end, Hideki had allowed himself to be convinced, even if he did still feel a little guilty about it.

A few days later, Hideki got another piece of good news, one that also left him feeling a little conflicted. He had gotten a phone call from Mr. Oomura, his old boss at Yorokonde, begging Hideki to come back and work for him. Since Hideki still hadn't found a job yet, he was glad to accept, however before he could do so, Mr. Oomura explained _why_ he wanted Hideki back. It seemed that Yumi had stopped speaking with him, had even threatened to exclude him from her upcoming wedding, because he had fired Hideki, in her words, "unjustly, unfairly, and for no reason at all". Hideki had been speechless, his disgust at being used as a bribe to get Yumi back in good graces with her father warring with his practicality in needing a job, any job, right now. Mr. Oomura had taken his silence as a refusal and had added a final carrot, a fairly hefty pay raise. That was enough for practicality to win out and Hideki had quickly agreed, even if his pride did feel a little bruised.

All of which led up to Hideki being on this train, bound for Hokkaido and his parents' farm. He had been putting off telling his parents about Chi for fear that they would disapprove. It had taken almost losing Chi to make him realize how wrong he had been, that by not telling his parents he was, in effect, hiding his love for Chi from them, acting like it was something of which he should be ashamed. Hideki still wasn't sure how his parents would react, but he was no longer afraid or ashamed.

There was one other reason why this trip home was so important right now. Hideki had a very important favor to ask of his mother, one that he hoped she would agree to. Hideki smiled to himself and shook his head. Perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. Best he first get through the initial discussion with his parents before he began thinking that far ahead. If his mother reacted like he hoped she would, _then_ he would worry about how to frame his request.

(***)

Minoru bent over the table and examined the piece of machinery he had been tinkering with for the past three hours. Nodding to himself, he turned towards the center of the room and called out, "Ms. Hib – er, I mean Chitose, I think I got it this time! Run the diagnostic tests on the left arm actuator again."

Ms. Hibiya smiled as she entered a few commands into the console located in the center of the room. After a moment that smile turned into a frown, "No good, I'm still showing the same critical failure."

"What? Impossible! I rebuilt that thing from the ground up, it perfectly matches the specs! Are you sure there is nothing wrong with the diagnostic software?"

Ms. Hibiya shrugged as she stood up and began to walk over, "Unlikely. If there was, we'd be seeing more errors." Ms. Hibiya joined Minoru at the table and leaned over to take a closer look. After a quick inspection she reached out and unplugged two wires and then reversed them and plugged them back in.

Minoru just stared for a moment and then groaned, "I reversed the power connection? How did I miss that?"

Before Ms. Hibiya could answer a new voice interrupted, "Perhaps because you haven't slept in over thirty-six hours? Or maybe because you haven't eaten in over twelve hours?"

Minoru whipped around to stare at the stairs to the underground room, and the persocom who was standing there. "Um, Yuzuki, well, I was just going to finish this little problem and then I was going to take a break..."

Yuzuki arched an eyebrow and shook her head. "And then there would have been another 'little problem' and another. I've seen how obsessed you get with these projects, Minoru," she said pointedly. She softened her tone as she continued, "I know how important Chi is to you, how important she is to everyone. But you are important to me, and I don't want you to work yourself until you collapse again. I've made sandwiches and tea, they are waiting upstairs. Then you really should try getting some sleep."

Minoru nodded, "You are right, of course. If I'm making simple mistakes like this, I'm not doing Chi any good. I'm not sure how I survived without you, Yuzuki, thank you."

Yuzuki nodded and smiled, "Good. I'll expect you upstairs shortly." She turned to Ms. Hibiya, "You are welcome to join us, of course. I made enough for both of you."

"You two go ahead. I'm going to attach this actuator permanently, double check the tests, and then I'll join you. It won't take five minutes."

(***)

"And Ms. Hibiya says that she should have Chi waiting for me when I get home," Hideki said, and held his breath, waiting for his parents' reactions. They had sat, spellbound, while he had told them about Chi, from finding her in the garbage up to the point where he had left a few days ago bound for their farm.

His mother was the first to react, "You found this... girl in the trash?"

Hideki grimaced, "Well, yeah, but only because Ms. Hibiya put her there so I would find her. It wasn't like she was actually broken, or anything."

"Son, you do know she is just a machine, don't you?" Hideki's father chimed in.

Hideki shook his head, "No dad, she isn't. I mean she is a machine, of course she is, but she is so much more than 'merely' a machine. I wish you could meet her, then you would understand."

His mother looked at Hideki for a moment before responding, "Well, why didn't you wait for, Ms. Hibiya was it?, to finish putting her back together and bring her with you? After all, it isn't like another week or two would have made much of a difference when you had already waited almost a year to tell us that you had found the love of your life."

Hideki winced as his mother's barb slid home. He then sighed, there was nothing for it, he'd have to explain his true reason for coming home now instead of just waiting, or perhaps even telling them by phone. "Well, mom, I had a good reason. I have a favor I have to ask you," he began.

(***)

Ms. Hibiya slumped in her chair and sighed a weary, but contented, sigh, "I'm not reading any faults, all systems appear to be working perfectly. I'm not sure I believe it yet, but I think we've done it. "

"Should I go ahead and seal her up, then?" Minoru asked.

Ms. Hibiya shook her head, "No. Go, get some rest before you fall over. I'll take care of the clean up." She paused for a second, "And thank you, Minoru. I couldn't have done this without you."

Minoru nodded and then turned and trudged slowly up the stairs and out of the underground room. Ms. Hibiya watched him go and then walked over to the table, feeling a little unsteady herself. _I'll get some sleep soon_, she promised herself, _but first, there is something I must do_. "I'm sorry, beloved husband," she murmured out loud, "I know we promised not to interfere, but for her happiness, and Hideki's, I must."

(***)

Hideki peeked inside his duffel bag to make sure the box his mother had given him was still there, then quickly exited the train and headed for the gate. Knowing that Chi was waiting for him at the Gub Jogasaki, he had to suppress the urge to break into a run. Instead, he contented himself with a fast walk, dodging the crowds until he was out on the sidewalk. Once outside he couldn't contain his impatience and began to jog. For once, he didn't care about the stares and whispered conversations his odd behavior generated, instead he concentrated on his memories of Chi's face, and soon his jog became a flat out sprint.

After several blocks had passed in a blur, Hideki found himself outside the gate of the apartment complex. He paused briefly to regain his breath and his composure, then walked towards the front door at a more reasonable pace. Once outside Ms. Hibiya's apartment he knocked quickly, the excitement and nervousness he was feeling becoming almost unbearable.

Ms. Hibiya opened the door, smiled warmly and stepped back to allow Hideki to come in. Once inside Hideki came to a complete stop, a look of shock on his face, as he realized all his friends were waiting for him. Shinbo and Ms. Shimizu were the first to come up and congratulate him, with Yumi and Mr. Ueda close behind. Minoru, who looked exhausted, smiled and nodded, although he didn't get up from the chair he was sitting in. Yuzuki smiled briefly as well. The two smaller persocoms, Sumomo and Kotoko, sat on Ms. Hibiya's shoulders; Sumomo doing some impromptu dance with Kotoko looking at her disapprovingly. With another jolt of surprise, Hideki even saw Jima and Dita standing at the far side of the room. When Jima saw Hideki looking at him, he placed a finger at his mouth in a shushing gesture, then tipped his wrap-around sunglasses down and winked. Dita merely scowled, obviously displeased.

After several chaotic minutes where everyone seemed to be speaking at once, Ms. Hibiya had Sumomo blow her whistle to get everyone's attention. After the room quieted, Ms. Hibiya said softly, "Thank you all for coming. I'm going to take Hideki downstairs where Chi is waiting. I'm afraid there isn't room for everyone, so I hope you don't mind waiting up here for a bit."

Hideki followed Ms. Hibiya through the crowd and then down the stairs into the underground room. Once he got off the stairs he halted, rooted in place, staring at the table at the side of the room and the persocom laying there, covered in a sheet up to her chin. After a moment he collected his wits and walked slowly over to stand at the head of the table and placed his hand on her cheek. "Chi," he breathed.

Chi didn't move, and Hideki looked up at Ms. Hibiya, a quizzical expression on his face. "She is still asleep, Hideki," Ms. Hibiya explained, "I was waiting on you before awakening her. However, there is something I have to talk to you about first." When Hideki looked concerned, Ms. Hibiya waved a hand and smiled, "No, no, nothing bad, I promise."

Ms. Hibiya paused a moment before continuing, trying to decide how to phrase what she was going to say, "I don't believe I ever told you why my husband placed Chi's reset switch where he did." When Hideki shook his head Ms. Hibiya continued, "Doctor Ichiro was afraid, like all fathers are, that someone would use his daughter and break her heart. And so he took steps so that if anyone did, they would lose her, and so his daughter would never know the pain of being treated like an object. Took steps so that the person who fell in love with her would have to love her for who she was, and not what she could do for him. He was a bit old fashioned and had this vision of true romantic, unrequited, love."

Ms. Hibiya paused again before continuing, "I agreed with him, thinking that this was best, that this would spare her from the pain of false love." She shook her head, "I realize now how short sighted that was. If two people love each other, truly love each other, denying them the physical expression of that love only leads to heartache. I saw that last fall on the rooftop, when Chi nearly retreated from the world completely, nearly willed herself to destruction because she could not be with you. Somehow you reached her, brought her back."

Ms. Hibiya shook her head again, "I promised my husband when he died not to interfere in Chi's life, to let her grow and live on her own and not meddle with her programming and hardware. Up until yesterday I kept that promise." When Hideki gave her a look of confusion she explained, "Yesterday I moved Chi's reset switch."

For a moment Hideki didn't understand, and then it dawned on him, "Does that mean that Chi... that I... that we..." Hideki floundered to a stop, his face reddening.

Ms. Hibiya laughed gently, "Yes, it does." She sobered as she continued, "I hope you realize how much trust I am placing in you. I broke the last promise I made to my husband, and have put you in a position where you could wound Chi deeply. However, I know how much you love my daughter and I know you would never do anything to harm her willingly." Ms. Hibiya paused again, a mischievous smile on her face, "Although perhaps I should be the one to explain things to Chi. The reading material in your apartment is, perhaps, not the best education for a young impressionable woman."

Hideki could only make a choking noise, his face heating with embarrassment. After a moment Ms. Hibiya laughed lightly, "I am only teasing, Hideki, you are young, and have nothing to be ashamed about. Now, come, Chi is waiting for you to awake her from her slumber."

Hideki nodded, his heart rising in his chest. He reached out to Chi, then stopped. He looked up at Ms. Hibiya in confusion.

Realizing the problem Hideki was having, Ms. Hibiya walked up next to Chi's head and opened her right ear shell and pointed to something inside, "There is a recessed button in the middle of the connectors, see it? It is designed to respond only to the first person to push it, and it will no longer reset her memory. I have also removed my passwords and command authority. Chi is now your responsibility, Hideki, and yours alone."

Hideki swallowed deeply and took a deep breath. He peered inside Chi's ear shell for a moment before finding the button. It was small, small enough that he could press it only with his pinky. Hideki paused, nervousness, excitement, and pure joy almost overwhelming him. He took another deep breath and pressed the button.

There was a loud, resounding click, and then, for a moment, nothing. Suddenly a white light filled the room, so bright that Hideki had to close his eyes, and a loud whirring noise sounded as Chi's systems initialized. Hideki finally managed to open his eyes against the light and he saw that Chi was sitting up, her eyes closed. A few more seconds passed and the white light began to fade and the whirring noise quieted and was gone.

Chi sat there for a bit, her arms crossed in front of her, her eyes closed, her body motionless. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she turned her head in sharp jerks. "Chi?" she said. Her gaze lighted on Hideki and she smiled hugely, her face lighting up with joy, "Chi!"

Hideki braced himself for what he knew was coming, and sure enough in one smooth motion Chi launched herself from the table and into his arms, burying her head into his chest and wrapping her arms around him. Hideki folded his arms around her, so full of joy he thought his heart might burst.

"Hideki kept his promise! Chi was afraid you wouldn't be here when Chi woke up," Chi said softly, her voice muffled against Hideki's chest.

"Nothing could have kept me away, Chi," Hideki buried his face in Chi's hair, "I've missed you so much."

How long the two stood there, Hideki couldn't have said. However, after a timeless moment, he heard someone clear their throat. Hideki looked up and saw Ms. Hibiya offering something to him. For a second Hideki didn't recognize what it was, then it hit him, Ms. Hibiya was holding Chi's red dress. With a sinking feeling, Hideki look over at the table and saw that Chi had left her sheet behind. His face turned beet red as he realized that Chi must be naked. "Uh, Chi, you need to let go of me for a moment," he stammered, trying to gently pry her loose.

Chi responded by hugging him tighter, "No, I'm not letting you go," she said determinedly.

Hideki tried to get out of the hug again for a moment before giving up, her grip was just too tight. He looked over at Ms. Hibiya, shrugged in defeat, and then wrapped Chi in his arms again.

Ms. Hibiya looked at the couple contemplatively, "Oh dear. I guess I'm going to have to have that chat with Chi sooner than I thought."

(***)

It took some time, but Ms. Hibiya and Hideki finally convinced Chi to let go of Hideki long enough to get dressed. Then the happy couple, trailed by Ms. Hibiya, went upstairs where they were greeted by all their friends. Everyone seemed to want to talk to Chi at once. Hideki, feeling somewhat crowded, edged to the outside of the circle of people. Once there, he leaned up against a nearby wall and sighed, then checked his pocket to make sure the box his mother had given him was still there. He looked over at Chi and smiled nervously. As soon as things quieted down a little, he'd go back over to her, but for now he wanted a chance to gather his courage.

Shinbo wandered over and smacked Hideki on the back, "So have you asked her yet?"

"What? How did you...? I mean, I have no idea what you are talking about!" Hideki said indignantly.

Shinbo just shook his head, "Come on, you couldn't be more obvious if you tattooed it on your forehead. Relax, I think it's a great idea. No more living in sin. And hey, maybe you can finally lose your virginity, eh?"

Hideki glared at Shinbo, his face reddening, "Shinbo!"

Shinbo laughed, "Take it easy, I'm just joking. You two make a great couple." He paused for a moment before continuing in a more serious tone, "I forgot to thank you for your advice earlier. It took a while, but eventually Takako opened up to me and we had a long talk. Things were a little rough for a while, but we worked through it." He paused again, "It is odd, though. The school administrator must not have blacklisted Takako like he said he was going to. Just last week she got a call for an interview for a private school just outside of Tokyo, one of their kindergarten teachers had just retired. We don't know for sure yet, but it looks like she got the job."

Hideki blinked in surprise. The Director of the Syndicate said that he would repair the damage done to his friends' lives, so was this his doing? Hideki dismissed his thoughts, whatever the reason, this was good news, "Uh, congratulations, I'm glad. Ms. Shimizu will make a great kindergarten teacher, I'm sure."

Shinbo nodded, "Yup." He gestured over to Chi, "It looks like the crowds breaking up a little. Now is your chance. Good luck, man."

Hideki swallowed, nodded jerkily and stepped forward. He was only peripherally aware that everyone was stepping back, and a clear space was forming around him and Chi. Apparently, Shinbo wasn't the only one who had divined what Hideki was about to do. As soon as he got in front of Chi he pulled the box from his pocket and got the ring inside out, the same engagement ring that belonged to his grandmother, the one he had eventually convinced his mother to give to him.

Chi looked at Hideki, not sure what he was doing. "Chi?" she said curiously. She looked around, not understanding why everyone had gone quiet.

Hideki dropped to one knee, held the ring out to her, and said the words he had been rehearsing in his head for days, "Chi, will you marry me?" He then waited, holding his breath for her answer.

For a few seconds Chi looked confused and Hideki's heart sank. It was his worst fear, not that she would refuse him, but that she would simply fail to understand the question. He had explained marriage to her when Shinbo and Ms. Shimizu had gotten engaged, and he knew Chi had asked Ms. Shimizu dozens of questions about marriage when they had met at the party celebrating Hideki's acceptance into college, but he had not been sure whether she had gotten the concept. Now it looked like she hadn't, and he wasn't sure what to do. He heard a gasp beside him, and saw out of the corner of his eye Ms. Hibiya moving toward Chi.

Before Ms. Hibiya got far, Chi's expression changed, the confusion vanishing and joy replacing it. "Marry. To wed. Chi understands. Ms. Shimizu explained it to me. Hideki wants to marry Chi?"

Hideki nodded, "Yes Chi, will you marry me?"

Chi nodded, smiling widely, "Chi! Yes, I will marry Hideki!"

Without warning Chi jumped at Hideki, wrapping her arms around his neck and knocking both of them to the ground, Hideki on the bottom, Chi on top, her long hair covering them both. All Hideki saw was Chi's face getting closer to his own, and then he closed his eyes as her lips met his.


	13. Author's Afterword

Afterword

A note from the Author

Well, that brings the story to a close. Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed it please review. What follows is a 'behind the scenes', more or less, a look at what went into the making of the story.

This story began a year and a half ago, in October 2008. I had borrowed the anime from a friend and watched it through in pretty much one sitting, something I don't really recommend. Shortly afterward I had a mental image pop into my head, the car 'accident' scene from the first chapter. At this time, writing anything down hadn't occurred to me. However, the image wouldn't leave me alone and from it a story idea began to grow. Not having written anything since shortly after high school, almost two decades ago, I ignored the idea, expecting it to go away. This didn't happen. Instead the story began to grow, and began to occupy any spare time I had, even interrupting my sleep. It was at this point I wrote down a prologue to the story and posted it on . From there, with many changes, the story grew and changed until it became what you see now.

The prologue is now gone. Shortly after writing it, I realized how horrible it was and yanked it. I then started over, incorporated some of the elements from it, and ended up with what became chapter one. Writing that car scene was hard, and in self defense I wrote an alternate ending, which can be found on if you dig a bit.

I had the story fairly well planned out at this point, I just ended up not following it. Originally the story was to be seven chapters in length, and didn't feature Freya, the Syndicate, or Jima and Dita. Instead, it was to focus on Minoru and Ms. Hibiya trying to rebuild Chi, and various difficulties and such. Right around chapter three I realized that what I had wasn't working, and the story in its present form began to take shape. If you look a bit in chapters two and three, you can see a few traces of the original plot line.

Even with the story changing on an almost daily basis, it was still supposed to be seven chapters and there was still supposed to be an actual wedding at the end. However, I hit a snag in chapter five and writer's block sidelined the story for six months. When I came back and finished chapter five, I realized that I was going to have to exceed my original plan by a bit, and it was then I added Freya's and the Syndicate's role in my story, even if I still had no idea how things were going to end. Actually, it wasn't until chapter eight until I finally decided how to wrap things up, and chapter nine before I figured out how to bring Chi back, and decided to end things at the proposal instead of the wedding.

Chapter six is when I decided how dark I was going to make the story. I wasn't sure how far was 'too far', so I was cautious. Chapters seven, eight, and nine were originally planned to more dark and violent, and I, at one time, toyed with murdering Minoru, mugging Ms. Shimizu, and possibly torturing, raping, and killing Yumi. I decided, in the end, that I wanted this story to end on a happy note, and causing irreparable harm to any of the main characters would make that hard or impossible.

Fugami, by the way, is a real bastard. A pure sociopath, he lives for hurting and killing others. Smarter than the usual serial killer, he has found a way to be employed in a field where he can indulge in his sick games without worry about reprisals. If I ever decide to do a sequel to this story, expect Fugami to show back up.

Speaking of sequels, I'm not done with Chobits, or this story line. There are several threads I left hanging on purpose; Hideki's and Chi's visit to his parents, the wedding, college, Fugami's revenge, maybe even a Minoru and Yuzuki or Dita and Jima centered fic. That said, don't expect anything soon.

Now that I've gotten into the habit of writing, I'm finding it hard to stop. I have had another story in my head for years, an original idea, and I am turning my attention to it next. I'm aiming for actual novel length out of this one, 100k words at a minimum. It will be urban fantasy and published on 's sister site, Fiction Press. I'm hoping to get the planning done in advance this time around, so I don't expect chapters to start being posted until June, although I am hoping to get this story updated on a much more regular schedule that this one was.

Well, thanks for reading my ramblings, and thanks for reading my story. I'd also like to thank my beta readers, without them this story would not have been possible. If anyone has questions about this story, please PM me and I'll try to answer them here. If enough people are curious, I'll post the original prologue to this story, though I'll warn you it is quite rough. The fact that I hadn't written anything for decades shows.

Iskandar

Laurence M.


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